The Misery in the Moment
by asc12
Summary: Special Agent Joe Chamberlain has a bone to pick with the young psychologist & profiler who got him fired. He's determined that Sweets pays in blood but isn't the only one who suffers. Warning: Violence & Torture which is why it's rated M.
1. Chapter 1

The Misery in the Moment

By ASC12

_I do not own Bones. My dog has a bone he dug up in the neighbors back yard if you want it. Watching Bones tells me this bone is a bone-a-fide femur._

_Big shout out to LovelyLancelot, a great new reviewer to my scribbles, welcome aboard! And to everyone else, welcome back to Sweets latest ill-fated adventure. Review are welcomed._

_I don't like to write anything I've done before so I'm going to try and keep it from getting too much like "A Clue in the Profiler". It may get a little dark, so here's hoping._

* * *

><p>"Joe, we can't move on unless you take responsibilities for your actions." Dr. Lance Sweets said with a great calm though the number two pencil was stressed against his distal phalange hard enough to snap it before he beat his patient with his notepad. This wasn't the way Sweets was hoping to start his week.<p>

"Look _doc,_" Joe said in as diminutive voice as he could muster towards Sweets. "Just put me back to work, that's where I need to be."

"Agent Chamberlain," Sweets said setting the pencil on his notepad still intact at the moment though Sweets nerves had been pressed farther than they had in any Booth-Brennan session. "You shot three suspects, killing one of them, you threatened a police officer when he intervened keeping you from shooting a fourth suspect - all of whom by the way, appear to _not _be associated with the crimes you were investigating. Now the FBI does recognize the stress this job entails which is why they are extending every opportunity to you, thru me, to see this thru."

Agent Joe Chamberlain's face hardened as his eyes narrowed on the young psychologist across from him. "Are you telling me that some young kid like you could keep me from going back to work?"

_There it is! _Sweets said waiting for it like a mosquito that finally bites. _Yes, Joe- ME and my youth are keeping you from working, not the fact you just shot and killed people._

"The important thing to focus on here Joe is the fact the actions that you took." Sweets said trying to refocus Joe on his own actions. In the sessions with Joe all he had gotten from the grumpy but stout fifty year old agent was that very little was his fault. His wife left him thru no fault of his own, his kid didn't talk to him, again not his fault, his coworkers were jealous of him though Sweets suspected fear Joe was a psycho had more to do with that, but none of it was Joe's fault. When Joe stubbed his toe on the first visit it had been Sweets fault he had furniture and since that moment Sweets had made no headway despite the dozen sessions.

"I was doing MY job!" Joe shouted. _Oh good, back to shouting _Sweets though as he could feel Joe's tirade coming on. "And no snot nosed punk like you is going to tell me that I can't do my job!"

"I'm not telling you anything." Sweets said with a louder voice though still completely collected. "I am only making recommendations to the board about your emotional behaviors…."

Joe stood up ready to explode like an overcharged and poorly packaged firework. "Emotional behaviors you little insignificant prick? I'll tell you what I can do to you…"

He didn't get the chance when the door swung open by a red eared but cool and collected Agent Seeley Booth. "What goes on here?" Booth said locking eyes with Joe.

"Oh what you pull in some back up?!" Joe shouted looking between Booth and Sweets who stood now side by side.

"No." Booth said placing his hands on his hips. "I just came down here to check on a profile when I heard some rather concerning statements being shouted in the office of someone who is here to help agents."

"Help? How the hell is this little prick going to help me? Do I look like I need help for a fifteen year old squirt?" Joe shouted again.

Booth was about to either deck the guy or say something when Sweets stepped forward after dropping his notepad loudly on the surface.

"Agent Chamberlain, my door is always open should you wish to return to the counseling sessions we can continue at that time." Sweets said.

Joe threw his head back and laughed. "I'm done wasting my time with this crap." He turned to leave but looked back at Sweets. "You keep me from my work and you'll regret it." He slammed the door shut after he left. The pencil snapped between Sweets knuckles.

"What the hell was that all about?" Booth asked as Sweets flopped back in chair and put his feet on the coffee table.

"Agent Joe Chamberlain." Sweets said rubbing his head.

"Yeah I know him." Booth said taking a seat across from Sweets. "Guy's a real piece of work, guys hate working with him since he's a real jerk. Which obviously isn't news."

Even though Sweets was among a friend he chose not to speak poorly of Joe Chamberlain, it wasn't professional of patients, even if he had been a jerk.

"Yeah well, I can't put that he's fit for duty." Sweets said knowing what he was going to have to do.

"Well yeah Sweets, that's pretty obvious, why's it bothering you?" Booth asked seeing the pensive look on Sweets face.

"It's going to end the man's career Booth, that's not something I take lightly." Sweets said.

"And that's not your fault, you gave him the chance, he blew it." Booth said. "Come on, though let's get lunch, get it off your mind."

"I thought you had a profile." Sweets asked confused as he stood up.

"What? Nah, it just sounded better if I told him that over lunch plans." Booth said. "Seriously though, how dangerous is he, I mean that was a threat he gave you, you need to tell the director about that."

Sweets shrugged. "How many times did you and Dr. Brennan threaten me? It's not news."

"Yeah Sweets, but we were teasing. I mean that guy, I don't think he's told a joke a day in his life. Look promise me you'll include it in your report."

"Sure thing Booth." Sweets said as he shut the door. Booth wasn't convinced and decided to follow up with the director himself.

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><p>Two days later, Agent Joe Chamberlain held the paper in his hand after the committee had shown him the door. The paper said much of the same thing, goodbye and good luck, here's the door. His hand crumpled around it as words echoed in his mind <em>not seen fit <em>he knew who that was _fellow agents spoke up _he knew who that was. _This isn't over _Joe promised as he tossed the paper and his tie to the trash on his way out the door.

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><p>Sweets could tell it was autumn as he looked out the window and saw the leaves start to hint at shades of orange and red. He watched the agents head out the door, some had chatted over coffee that morning about plans that weekend to take kids to pumpkin patches or just curl up on this rainy night and sip on hot beverages and watch scary movies. It seemed like something you would do on a chilly October night and Sweets imagined if he had anyone to do that with, he would. Instead he nodded along about busy weekend plans though he had none. He would have been pleased to work all night, even thought it was Friday or that weekend but he had no cases, no profiles, nothing to do. <em>That's good Lance <em>he said sarcastically to himself as he shut off his computer and turned off his desk lamp _there's nothing psychologically wrong with you to choose work over going home for the night and the weekend, nothing at all. _He shut the office door and hoped maybe someone would run up to him with something to do. _Still sad Lance, still sad_

He headed towards the elevator only to find Booth already on the lift, heading out.

"Hey Sweets!" Booth said greeting him. "I hardly see you heading home at the end of the day."

"Yeah, guess it's time to head home." Sweets said smelling someone's pumpkin flavored coffee renewing the cozy feelings of fall. Maybe he would curl up on his couch in his quiet and lonely apartment with his electric fireplace and watch Star Wars or maybe Steel Magnolias. _Don't say that out loud Lance. _He reminded himself as Booth waited for answer.

"What?" Sweets asked unsure what the question was.

"Plans, big plans this weekend?"

"Oh yeah, yeah, I've got some stuff lined out." Sweets said wondering if getting gas and sleeping were among people's usual "highlights." Booth nodded along wondering if the psychologist was lying.

"Well, if you're in a lull, call us, we might take Christine for a hayride or something fun."

Sweets knew Booth meant well but he wasn't sure what it would look like for Booth & Brennan to be taking their two 'children' to the pumpkin patch.

"Sure, if it falls thru I'll call you." Sweets promised though knew he would do nothing of the sort, he was not interested in pity. As they parted ways to head to their cars Sweets vowed to stop at the liquor store on the way home.

* * *

><p>Booth smiled at the picture on his phone, Christine looked so cute sitting on a pile of pumpkins. He had learned a lot about pumpkins from Brennan yesterday when they went to the patch. He could hear her telling him all about the squash plant derived from the Cucurbita Maxmia. Booth thought it sounded like an imported car. Still it was a great day though something nagged at him. He hadn't expected Sweets to actually join them but he had sort of wished the kid would have run into them in some way. Booth wondered now if he should have met him for a beer or asked him to join them after the patch last night for dinner. He knew the kid had no plans but plenty of pride.<p>

Booth headed to Sweets office and wondered if he should show Sweets the pictures of Christine or not. He knew he should because Sweets would rather _see _the photos than be regarded as too tender of feelings to avoid them. Booth knew Sweets was more about being supportive than whining he knew as he went to open the door. Sweets' door didn't open and Booth found himself locked out. Confused he looked around found Sweets' direct supervisor who informed him that he had not seen Dr. Sweets not had he called to say he wouldn't be in.

"That doesn't sound like him." Booth said.

"I know, I wasn't sure what to think because Dr. Sweets is _always _at work. I haven't reported him as a no show because I know it's not likely he's abandoned his work. I somewhat assumed he was with you, but now you are here and he's still not." The supervisor said and Booth was now gently alarmed.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

_Malibu Breeze: Hell yeah you should be excited! I'm excited just to write it! __J Here we go!_

**Recap 1: Agent Joe Chamberlain is discharged from the FBI based on a psychological evaluation done by Sweets with an additional recommendation by Booth. Chamberlain vows to get back at them, namely Sweets.**

October is cold and chilly. _That's what it is _Sweets said as his dark brown eyes eked open to a darkened room. He was certain he could see his breath against the moonlight coming in the glass window next to him. _But I was going to watch a movie on my couch, this doesn't feel like my couch _he said to himself feeling the thin mattress lying over an old spring cot. _Why does my head hurt? _Sweets further pondered as he slowly lifted his right arm to his head. His arm felt like a hundred pound weight, it was heavy to move.

Sweets consciousness was increasingly coming to him at the same rate that the knowledge that something was awry was as well. The small room he as in was old, the walls made of brick and wood floors that creaked. The room smelled damp and old, unused with mold or something in the air that made Sweets cough but perhaps he considered too, it was the constant drafty chill he could feel. His fingers left his eyes that he had rubbed and touched a rough and worn blanket thrown over him and he was sure that someone had placed it there, he knew he hadn't walked in this room.

He then found his suit jacket was gone along with his leather shoes but the rest was in tact, or so he thought when he found his tie, wrapped around his wrest wrist that was attached secured to the old slim metal bedframe above him. It was this that caused his heart rate to increase considerably. His mind quickly searched for an explanation of what got him here. He remembered heading to the car after talking to Booth but it got fuzzy after that. He was pretty sure this wasn't a super kinky date because he certainly wasn't feeling relieved nor relaxed.

He pulled on the tie which caused the bed to squeak. Sweets turned to his side to look at the tie more but found his body to move very slowly. For a slim guy he felt like he was a solid lead weight until he suspected he had been drugged, only causing his heart rate to increase a few more beats per minute. _This can't be good _Sweets was thinking when the door opened.

"You're up already?" The voice asked surprised.

Sweets struggled to move back around towards the room and see who was speaking to him. He couldn't see anyone until the voice had stepped into the moonlight.

"Joe?" Sweets asked. "What's going on?"

"Oh, you want in the loop?" Joe asked with a smile that did not put Sweets at ease. "Funny thing, I wasn't in the loop when I got canned. Came as a bit of a surprise to me, but I know you knew _all _about it." Joe hissed.

Sweets swallowed hard, he knew Joe and his threat though Sweets realized he had seriously underestimated his sense of vengeance. Sweets had suspected Joe may slash Sweets tires so Sweets moved to a different parking place. This set up however, far exceeded Sweets expectations.

"Joe I don't know what your plan is here but I think we should talk about…"

"Talk!?" Joe shouted and threw his head back to laugh. "I think we've talked enough. Talking didn't do me any good did it?"

Sweets wanted to argue that not enough talking had been done but he didn't think Joe wanted to wax intellectual over the merits of psychology.

"Where are we?" Sweets asked feeling the primal need to survey the area.

"Oh we're at 1034 Baltimore." Joe said with a straight face then busted into laughter. "Yeah, I called Agent Booth and told him right where we are." He laughed again at his joke.

Sweets tried to place the building which as he knew could have been any building.

"Let me go." Sweets tried to sound demanding and not pleading.

"Oh okay." Joe said laughing again. "Let me call you a cab!" Joe nearly fell over he was laughing so hard and Sweets wondered if he was drunk or just high on his power trip.

"Look, you've had your fun, okay, let's talk to the committee and reevaluate…"

"Oh doctor, doctor, doctor…" Joe said shaking his head. "We're nowhere **_near _**the fun I've got in mind. You see, you got me fired two days ago, I've had time to _plan_ and let me tell you, this is _definitely _going to make you want to reevaluate."

Joe turned and walked from the room, panic was rearing its head to Sweets as he watched the open door and dark entryway. He pulled at the tie again, angry he was restrained by his own neckwear. He rolled to one side off the cot but the drugs were still heavy in his system and he failed to be able to climb to his own two feet on his own.

"Hm, I thought those drugs would keep you in place without having to tie you down." Joe said flopping Sweets back on the bed. "It's so hard for people to stay calm when you need them to." Joe said looking down at Sweets. "I'm not worried about you getting out." Joe said casually and took a seat next to the bed in a wooden chair that sat there, strategically placed in the moonlight. "There's absolutely no way to get out of here even if you got out of that door." Joe assured him. "Think of it this way Dr. Sweets, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. And I've got quite a journey planned for you."

Sweets heard a noise followed by voices. He took his chance and began to shout for help. Joe smiled and Sweets began to suspect that Joe would not be so careless as to leave him ungagged if people were in the distance to hear. Joe turned to look away and again Sweets eased off the bed and pulled himself towards a window. He caught a glimpse of a building across the street, the window looked _down _at it so Sweets knew he was in a building taller than it, there were floors behind it. Sweets pulled at the window but with one arm still fastened to the tie to the bed it did little good.

"I thought you caught my drift!" Joe said coming back in the room, his temper flaring red hot as Joe kicked Sweets in the chest sending his back into the metal frame. Sweets sucked in air at the simultaneous pangs of intense aching though he refused to give Joe the satisfaction of showing it. As Sweets opened his eyes Joe was pulling at Sweets shirt, tee shirt under it and some skin as he lifted Sweets and threw him on the bed. Sweets arm caught as he turned and it twisted. Joe smiled as it gave him an idea and he went to it and with a tight grip twisted Sweets left arm that was in the tie. Sweets face squished in agony but he remained silent.

"I told you not to move!" Joe shouted between his teeth. Sweets knew that Joe was trying to condition him to his will but he wanted to refuse, to stay sane. He would find a way out, Booth would find him, there was plenty of time, he was in a city somewhere, and surely someone would _Ouch! _Sweets screamed in his mind and he began to realize that Joe was going to break his arm.

"Okay, I'll stay I'll stay!" Sweets shouted. He knew he would need his arm in an escape.

Joe smiled as he let it go. "Knew you would beg." Joe spat with a smile. _Whatever _Sweets said to himself. He knew Joe was an idiot but he was a dangerous idiot and right now he had Sweets at a disadvantage as his chest and back ached. Sweets moved to get as comfortable as he could and wade out Joe until he saw a moment to escape but Joe pulled Sweets right arm up as well and wrapped it tightly to the other and pulled up. Sweets head was resting at the top of the headboard as Joe tied Sweets had to something overhead where they were pinned in place. It was too dark to see what it was but even as Sweets pulled at them reflexively he could tell his hands were not going to move from the spot pinned over his head.

"You said you weren't going to try and move." Joe said watching him move about and before Sweets could say that it was instinct Joe balled up his fist and planted it across Sweets face, pulling him to the right and away from the restraint that didn't budge. Sweets arms ached as he was pulled against them and he braced himself for more. He opened his eyes and saw the room was empty.

He sat trying to catch his breath. He tried to push his feet up to take his weight off his arms but his legs were lead weights. He wondered how long until the drugs wore off though his adrenaline was running so high that he wasn't worried about passing out.

He continued to look around the room but it was the same as before, one door straight ahead that Joe came in and out of, a window to his right, and he could almost make out another door to the far right. It was a smaller door and he suspected it to be a closet or something. Sweets was familiar with the room that measured no more than 8 feet by 12 feet. Not knowing if a fire escape was out the window or not he knew his best chance of escape was thru the door, though if Joe was as good as his word then he couldn't get far. Sweets was becoming apprehension about an escape. His thoughts were interrupted however as his arms began to hurt. He pulled again under the hope that something had loosed but they were tightly in place and this time pulling on them hurt even more. His head resting on the metal was causing a throbbing pain.

Sweets tried to think to think why Joe had put them like this when he heard the voices again. Again he shouted out, just in case someone could hear him and kept at it until his voice began to run short. He stopped as his hands began to feel numb and when he heard the sounds of things moving he went back to calling out to them. The haze of the drugs subsided for a moment when Sweets realized that the reason Joe had put his hands over his head was that the blood was slowly draining out of them causing the pain to become intense as the limbs numbed. Feeling panicked Sweets shouted for help again and again.

Joe stood downstairs and smiled as he rustled boxes and crates to create noise and reminded himself before he went upstairs to change out the recording of the voices he had on tape.

* * *

><p>Sweets heart was pounding as the pain and throbbing increased. He felt about to pass out when Joe came back in the room. Sweets dark eyes flared open as Joe leaned in and Sweets wanted to shout obscenities at him but was glad he waited since Joe was removing the tie and put it in his pocket. Sweets wondered why but as his heavy arms flopped to the bed he forgot about it.<p>

Joe pulled Sweets by his ankles so he was lying flat on the bed, his arms still aching and his head throbbing from the metal frame it was resting on. Sweets was almost comfortable when he felt the blanket rest across him again which confused him, Joe must have guessed what Sweets was thinking.

"I don't want you to freeze to death." Joe said turning to leave. Sweets saw the night was still out though he had no idea what time it was. He hoped to fall asleep and maybe tomorrow would bring new possibilities when Sweets eyes opened as he felt something small and moving on him. Sweets eyes opened as wide as they could when he saw a large rat on his chest. It turned and looked around for food as Sweets chest began to pound. His arms were still numb and motionless as he looked at the rat staring back at him like a large snack. Sweets moved his chest quick enough to toss the rat to the floor.

Joe shook his head. "You promised me you should move." He didn't look very sorry as he shook his head, a smile on his lips. "Don't worry he'll find his way back." Joe said placing a large slice of cheese in Sweets dress pocket. "Night, night." Joe said shutting the door tightly behind him. Sweets eyes searched the dark room, his ears keenly listening for the vermin creature. He knew he had to get the cheese out of his pocket but his arms remained at his sides motionless. He tried in vain to move his fingers to get circulation flowing to them but they were stubborn to respond. Sweets could hear the rat running along the baseboards looking for a hole to get thru to find food. He was sure that Joe had kept him hungry, the thought of the rodent knowing at his skin kept his heart pumping and as he hoped, get circulation back to his arms.

The creature continued to scurry around the room and Sweets could hear the rodent's long tail and sharp claws pound against the floor as it moved, the sounds deafening in the perfectly silent room. The rodent's every move echoed in Sweets ears so loud he thought it was stereophonic sound that was sure to shatter the glass. When the rat stopped Sweets heart skipped a beat as he was sure it was crawling the headboard and would be in his hair or clothes in no time. The thought made him shiver and he felt a sensation go thru his right arm. He tried to get his fingers to move as though his fingers were beating against piano keys in a staccato rhythm.

Every few moments he would pause and listen for the rat who at other times paused from the sounds coming downstairs. Sweets could hear the rat clawing at the metal frame and he knew now why Joe had placed the blanket back on the bed, it touched the floor giving the rat the ability to claw it's way back on the bed. Sweets kicked the blanket to the floor and was soon able to get him right arm flung across his own chest. It was exhausting and he was only half way there. It was tremendously irritating how hard it was just to get his hand to cooperate enough to get the dairy product square from his shirt pocket, a motion on any given day he could do a million times.

The rat was clawing at the frame again, another area to search for food. Sweets fingers found the edge of his pocket as he could hear the creature reach for the mattress as it dug its claws into the sheet and pull itself up. Sweets could feel the warm cheese on his fingers, the rat should be able to smell it for sure as he placed it between his index finger and his middle finger tips and pulled it out of his pocket as the rodent passed his foot. Sweets tossed the cheese on the floor but the rat was to his hip. Sweets swiped his hand to the side knocking the rat on the floor. His hand dropped to his side, exhausted by the escapade.

The rat would be appeased, but not for long. Sweets began to shiver and wished the thin and itchy blanket was back. Now exhausted his eyes began to droop but then he could hear the rodent was back and Sweets eyes flashed open again. He realized then he wasn't going to sleep a wink while the rodent was in the room, and by his best guess it wasn't quite midnight yet.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

_Yeah so I hate rats. Did you get that? :)_

_Wesley1501, it's probably going to get a bit darker…._

**Recap 2: Sweets is captive with Joe who voices his intentions to make Sweets suffer. He begins by kicking him in the chest then tying his hands above his head, draining the blood from them and causing great pain. He had voice recordings downstairs to make think Sweets hears people and he calls out to them. Joe's final act for Friday evening (the day that Sweets goes missing) is to leave a hungry rat in the room with cheese in Sweets pocket.**

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><p>The sunlight grew more intense as it crept in the room. Sweets eyes held steady at half mast, exhausted but constantly woke by the prospect of sounds or voices that suggested someone was in the building and be alerted to his presence and Bernie, the name he gave to the rodent from hell.<p>

Sweets image of Bernie had developed from a rat that was being tortured just as much as Sweets was to toting a pitch fork in its claw, walking on two feet with its long pointed tail. He knew it bordered on keeping his mind busy and falling insane as the exhaustion set in heavier and heavier from midnight till six this morning. Sweets knew it was six, it looked like six and he was always up early, ready for work.

Bernie was back on the bed and again Sweets kicked him off, a thud as he rolled across the floor. Sweets didn't care what PETA thought at the moment, his body ached from the uncomfortable bed and bruises earned from the night before. While circulation had returned to his arms his left arms remained in deep pain and had he not been wearing a long sleeve shirt he could have seen the deep purple bruises under it, thanks to Joe twisting it the night before.

Any moment Sweets was about to release to the sweet surrender of sleep was halted as Bernie or the noises downstairs made another appearance and again he reacted. Exhausted and cold he shivered on the bed in the cold autumn morning. He had painfully retrieved the blanket from the floor a few hours ago, keeping both an eye out for Bernie, who Sweets was afraid was in the folds of the blanket on the floor and the pain the movement brought. The blanket offered some shield against the chill of the room that seemed to seep down into the bones itself leaving Sweets to a dreary and dismal realization – today was Saturday, no one would be expecting him until Monday, no one would know he was gone. Sweets gulped hard at the fact that he had to deal with this for another two days…

"Morning sunshine!" Joe said tossing the door open, Bernie running free thru it. Sweets relaxed a second with the fact that Bernie was gone but tensed now that Joe had shown up, an intoxicating smell of a hot breakfast in his hands. Joe pulled the wooden chair close to the bed and Sweets wondered how humiliating it was going to be for Joe to feed him. But that wasn't Joe's intention Sweets soon realized, Joe's plan was to eat the breakfast in front of Sweets, in fact, practically over top of him as it seemed. Joe wanted the aroma of breakfast as close as possible.

"What did you have for dinner last night?" Joe asked then laughed as he 'suddenly remembered' something. "Oh yeah, that's right, you were in the trunk of my car for dinner. Yep, I remember now. Wow, I bet you're hungry huh?" Joe asked as Sweets stomach gave him away with an involuntary grumble. Sweets didn't want to give in and looked away.

"Wow, you don't look so good, didn't a lot of sleep last night huh?" Joe asked with a smile. "Wow, this sure is good. I don't even think I can eat it all, there is so much food here!" Joe held the plate filled from edge to edge with food close to Sweets nose. "Is it as good as that diner you and what's his name Booth, always eat at?" Joe's look held contempt as he said it. He flung a piece of scrambled egg at Sweets, landing on his light blue shirt.

"Oh, go ahead, you can have it." Joe said smiling and eating more. Sweets glanced down at it and then away. As hungry as he was he wasn't going to eat food that was flung at him, giving Joe pleasure. "Okay." Joe said getting up. "You little four legged friend might come back to get it." Joe went in the other room and got a small table and placed it in the doorway and sat the food on it and left.

Sweets wasn't tied down and he knew he could walk over and get it. It wasn't going to be easy, but he could. Joe put it there to entice Sweets towards it, Sweets knew it, he was conditioning him like a dog and while starving he didn't want to do it. Sweets closed his eyes and now free from the rat closed his eyes allowing them to rest. He didn't even notice he picked up the egg and put it in his mouth as he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Sleep didn't last more than five minutes, Sweets knew the time because the food was still fragrant when his eyes opened with Joe standing over him.<p>

"Well it's Saturday morning Dr. Sweets!" Joe announced. "What do you usually do on Saturdays?"

"Work." Sweets said with a gravelly voice from the lack of water and the screaming out to voices who didn't answer the night before.

"Well that's no fun, I think we should have some fun, don't you?" Joe asked near beside himself with excitement.

"No." Sweets said exhausted still and moved to rub his aching head.

Joe reached in and pulled on Sweets shirt flinging him across the short room. Sweets bounced off the wall and onto the ground with a thud. Joe sauntered over and kicked Sweets in the chest sending him onto his back with another crash. Before Sweets could get up again he heard a chair be firmly planted in the center of the room. Sweets had a premonition that this was not going to be good.

Joe pulled Sweets up like a rag doll and threw him into the chair rocking back before lunging forward when Joe caught him and pulled him back with the aid of a rope. He pulled it tight against Sweets chest then pulled it as tight as he could. Sweets face grimaced in pain as it caught against him, making breathing hard. He tried to kick with his feet, throw the chair back but Joe pricked him with a needle causing Sweets body to immediately relax. The relaxed motion caused Sweets to loosen in the ropes so Joe pulled them tightly again.

Sweets could hardly lift a finger let alone take a kick or swing at his captor.

"Want to say something to me now?" Joe asked his face inches from Sweets.

"Nothing you don't already know you crazy messed up psychopath!" Sweets shouted.

Joe bit his lip and left the room. _Good move Lance _he told himself, but man did it feel good, for a moment. Joe returned with a stool and sat off to one side. He put a small box on his knee and pulled out some rope, tying Sweets hand to the arm of it. _Manicure under duress? _Sweets wondered trying to keep himself calm with humor. His humor faded when Joe opened the box of straight pins, then began slowly sticking them under Sweets fingernails.

The first two he grimaced. The third and fourth he squirmed. The fifth thru seventh one he kicked his foot against the floor. He was determined to not scream and satisfy Joe.

"Do I need to get another shot?" Joe said watching the mobile feet of Sweets. Sweets stopped moving and Joe reached for two more pins with his left hand, he placed one between his lips while his right hand gripped Sweets wrist tighter to hold it in place. The wrist was turning purple from the resistance. Joe admired his work.

"You know, my wife left me. Oh I told you that, no wait, you knew that because you snooped thru my file." Joe said inserting the pointed stainless steel needle point into the space between the finger and the nail. "You're always doing that to people aren't you, meddling, thumbing your fingers thru their files." He took the last one and this time quickly shoved it in the thumbnail hard. "You shouldn't do that." Joe said, his face expressionless as tears were forming at the edge of Sweets eyes. "People don't like you doing that." Joe said. "Now let's get a picture of your manicure."

Sweets recognized his phone coming out of Joe's pocket and snapping a picture. Joe got up and purposely, but pretended it was an accident, as he tapped the ends of the pins sticking out of Sweets nails. "Oops!" He said with a smile as a tear rolled out of Sweets eyes though he looked away so his captor couldn't see it.

Joe left the room and Sweets was sure he was about to get sick at the pain and the hunger pains when Joe emerged again.

"Oh don't pass out yet! Too much fun." Joe pulled the pins out and put them back in their container. "Save these for later!" Joe said shaking the pins in their see thru container close to Sweets face. Sweets head bobbed around so Joe put the container away and untied Sweets who fell forward onto the floor. Joe let him crash to the ground and smiled as he so.

"What's the matter kid? Can't handle a little pain?" Joe taunted.

Joe pulled Sweets onto the bed. "Alright, you rest up for later." Joe said turning to leave and Sweets relished in the notion of falling to unconsciousness. As he neared towards it he heard a noise again. _Bernie's back? The people who don't seem to exist downstairs? _Sweets wondered to himself. Then he looked over an in the afternoon sunlight he could see a radio in the doorway pointed towards him. The sound coming from it was loud and low, it droned in a single beat, over and over. The sound gave Sweets a pounding headache.

"You look cold over there." Joe said. "Here the sunlight will be warmer." Joe moved the cot so that Sweets was facing the window, the bright sunlight pouring at his face. He tried to turn onto his stomach but Joe yanked his arms up and tied them again with his own necktie, forcing Sweets towards the bright sunlight, the maddening sounds beating over him.

Soon the sounds became such a constant that Sweets began to fall asleep. It was then that a loud guitar riff blared making him jump and pull against the sore arms and hands. The intense sunlight made it so that he couldn't open his eyes, not knowing his surroundings was making him apprehensious. He tried to calm himself in the quiet as the sound went back to a low drum like water falling into a pail. The sound then began to grow into a loud and very high pitch. Sweets wanted to cover his ears it was so piercing and painful. Joe stood in the doorway looking down at him with ear plugs in smiling each time Sweets nearly fell asleep and then changed the sound and enjoyed watching him jolt again.

* * *

><p>"Hey Buddy!" Joe said moving Sweets bed again. Sweets unscrewed his eyes from their shut position to see the sun had retreated and night was upon them. The sound had stopped and the light had relented. Sweets wanted to sigh relief but he was exhausted beyond even his own comprehension. He knew that Joe's plan was to sleep deprive him but at some point didn't Joe even have to sleep? <em>Oh God, Bernie's coming back tonight isn't he? <em>He wondered to himself but Joe's current wicked smile brought him to the present instead of the hours ahead.

"I'll bet you're hungry." Joe said. "I know you know I'm angry at you. But I'm not a monster." Joe left the room and came back in with a plate of food.

"Now I know you want to be independent. So I'm going to leave it with you, and you eat however long it takes you. I need to you to eat so we can keep having fun. And you need to eat so that you can escape." Joe laughed though they both knew he was right. "Let me help you up." Joe said pulling Sweets up into a sitting position much to Lance's disdain. Joe set the tray of food on Sweets lap and Sweets wondered what was up, was it just about keeping him alive? Sweets smelled the food which smelled pretty good he thought and he was starving. _Maybe he needs me until the work week, I'm sure he has some sort of plan. Still if I don't eat, I've got no plans._ Sweets stuck the plastic fork in his mouth. Hot food, that was good. Joe smiled and left and Sweets resisted the urge to try and stab Joe with the flimsy and cheap plastic fork.

Joe came back and took the plate away, and sat something on the ground but Sweets was so tired he paid no attention to it. Darkness was setting in the room and it grew cool again in the old drafty place.

"Hope your aim is good kid." Joe said shutting the door behind him.

_What the hell does he mean by that? _Sweets wondered as he lay in the darkness, surprised there had been no further torture that night. _He must have gotten tired, maybe he'll get laid or something and forget I'm here. _Sweets thoughts drifted as sleep took over. He wasn't asleep for very long when he woke feeling cramps. He turned to his side wondering what the deep pain was as he felt shivers come on that didn't seem to have much to do with the cold as much as the feeling that something was very wrong.

Sweets stomach turned as he began to feel nauseous and when he turned to his right side he saw what Joe had put on the ground, a waste basket. _That monster poisoned my food! _Sweets realized as he began to violently throw up.

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><p>Reviews? ;)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

4.

_Say, who wants to rewrite this chapter? Apparently I do! Although I had 2200 words ALL done **poof! **All gone when I went to post. An hour of google and still, nothing. Total effing mystery. So let's hope this go around was as good as what I had earlier…._

**Sweets spends the night feigning off Bernie the rat who threatens to nibble on cheese squares and Sweets flanges. Morning arrives as well as a beating and a pins and needles experience. Almost able to relax, he is served dinner but spends the evening throwing up instead of sleeping, for a second night in a row. **

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><p>To say that Sweets looked green by Sunday morning would have been a kind statement. Not only had he surely vomited so much that he was sure his socks had been sucked in thru his feet and up his esophagus and out his mouth along with a kitchen sink and everything else he had ever eaten. Sweets wondered idly if death was a bad option. He knew he wasn't serious but he felt truly miserable. The room was increasingly chilly and based on the newly frosted glass it must have gotten colder over the evening. Joe must have brought this thicker blanket to keep his captive alive instead of becoming a Popsicle, he had more plans Sweets remembered, a recollection that only made him want to throw up more though nothing was left. The blanket must have come when Joe changed out the trash cans each time the previous one was filled.<p>

Sweets was idly curious what he had put in the food or if it was just spoiled food or what. He didn't know, all he knew was that he had spent the entire evening either throwing up, afraid to throw up more, feeling slightly relieved for a few seconds after throwing up before the next wave came and it all started over again along with mind numbing chills following by exhaustive heat waves.

Around five a.m. he faced near delirium until a bottle of water and a freshly emptied trash can showed up. Sweets eyed the bottle for an hour for puncture holes and more poison but deciding if it wasn't poisoned he was going to die of dehydration so he'd better chance it. The 24 ounces of h20 was gone in seconds and he hoped it would stay. His body felt like a sponge that was soaking it up faster that it seemed possible to lose it. He let the bottle fall in the empty trash can with a clang. He was glad the trash was empty still, he couldn't bear another round of vomit. His sides begged for relief from the exsanguination of food but it was bruised already from the back to back beatings Friday night and Saturday morning with trauma to his chest. Every time he threw up he could feel the most likely fractured ribs scream out in pain but with no choice he expelled the food and everything else inside.

He pulled the comforter closer, a feat that made him near want to pass out with exhaustion. It was back to chills now and his eyelids wanted to slide shut. For a second night he had not slept, too busy throwing up he had not caught a moment's rest. He figured it was part of Joe's plan, like with the rat the night before, Joe slept soundly while Sweets got to endure torture during the night as well as the day. The last sleep he had gotten was Thursday night, having been captured sometime between after work Friday night and waking up a few hours later. Even that sleep wasn't rest, just a drug induced nap. Now he longed for that escape and sweet release into a blissful unconsciousness. While exhausted, the sun was rising and Sweets knew Joe would be back with more "fun". He didn't want to sleep, he wanted to be awake and ready for whatever came next, but equally he wanted sleep so badly as well. His eyelids worked against him and came crashing down as the Sunday morning sun rose. His eyes were glassy with water that came with exhausted eyes and as they shut with lids so heavy the weights were nearly as visible as the dark circles around them. The door to his room flung open, sending Sweets eyes to a half mast. They would have been wide awake in awareness but he could not physically muster the strength to do what his nerves asked of him.

"Morning smart ass, dinner a little rough on your stomach?" Joe asked with a smile. "Some people just CAN'T do spicy!" He mocked.

"Please." Sweets said looking at him with pleading eyes that Joe enjoyed. "Please just eat shit and die." Sweets looked away, nearly passing out with the energy it took to say it, knowing and doing were two different things. He knew it wasn't a good idea to say it, but he did it anyway.

"Let's not do either just yet." Joe said recovering from the stubbornness Sweets continued to display. He hadn't expected so much out of the skinny kid but he was slightly impressed by his stamina. Mostly he was glad because this elongated their time and his bag of tricks could pull from.

"What are we in the mood for today kid?" Joe asked looking outside the window. He could hear the kid murmur about shit and dying again as he pulled the blanket close - giving him an idea.

"Hey kid, you look cold, I've got just the idea to warm you up." Joe said leaving the room.

Sweets was about to drift off again when he felt the blanket being pulled from him the warmth leaving. As he instinctively reached for them Joe pulled Sweets arms up and instead of binding them with the necktie again, Joe opted for a rigid and unforgiving zip tie. The sharp plastic cut into Sweets wrists that were bound over his head to the metal bed frame. Joe pulled his feet so that Sweets was pulled tight and flat against the bed. Joe removed Sweets socks so that the cold would be more prevalent and allow the young man less relief from the cold. He noted how sensitive Sweets feet were to the touch when he removed the argyle socks and decided to save that fact for later. Feet now bound in place Joe unbuttoned Sweets light blue button down dress shirt and pulled his underlying white tee up and over Sweets face. He couldn't see what was going on and felt his heart rate increase.

"Hey that's one white chest!" Joe said looking at Sweets rapidly rising and falling chest as Sweets tried to get his breathing under control. "You don't get out in the sun much do you?" Joe asked. Sweets wasn't going to get into the reasons why he didn't take his shirt off in public, Joe would most likely find the scars soon enough.

Sweets could hear the plastic being unwrapped.

"You know, I've been pretty stressed lately." Joe said. "I lost my job. Oh wait, you know a bit about that don't you." Joe laughed and Sweets could hear him search for something. "Yeah, I tell you that was the last thing I had going for me. Wife gone, career gone, all gone."

Sweets detected the same song for Joe, everything being someone else's fault.

"You know, if you were as smart as you think yourself to be you would have read up on me, known where I was in the years before I came to the bureau." Joe taunted.

"In a foreign prisoner of war camp." Sweets said in a tone that reflected no emotion.

Joe paused. "You really are a smarty pants aren't you?"

"You were a patient. I always read up on patients." Sweets said thru the thin tee shirt. Truth be told he had forgotten about Joe in the time he was no longer a patient. Sweets freed up the space in his mind for new patients but now it was making sense as he recalled Joe's background with torture in his old Army days. Sweets knew if he was going to make it to the beginning of the work week, when someone might realize he was missing, then he needed to start talking smart and not just talking back. He had to either get Joe to admit his own failings or convince Joe that he was a complete psycho who was suffering from a severe breakdown. Both of these options faced certain challenges Sweets knew when he was half delirious, starving, in pain and strapped to a cot with his head covered.

"Yeah, well you're a little too smart to be reading up on everyone. Meddling. That's what you do. But whatever, you're getting your own medicine back at you." Joe said and Sweets hoped that his sessions were not this terrible.

"So, stress, yes, I was facing some stress. So I decided to look for some stress relievers. So I took up smoking."

Sweets could smell nicotine filling the air, he had a bad feeling. Sweets had been thru beatings before and with years of assurance the bruises had faded, the memories left and life began again. He had a childhood no one would every fully understand, mostly guarded by the fact that he wouldn't share it in detail with anyone, sometimes not even himself. He had known pain at an age no person should, and now, still undeserving of the pain, it found its way back to him again as Joe ground the cherry end of the cigarette into Sweets chest. The smell of burning flesh mixed in the air with the nicotine adding to the nauseous feelings already coursing thru his veins.

The first three he was able to absorb, the next two stung deeper as Joe ground them into the softer flesh on his sides. Sweets concentrated on breathing and distraction techniques which worked till Joe had gotten to the eighth nicotine stick. By then Sweets had involuntarily began to squirm as the cherry bore into his flesh. The movement caused the tee to come loose and Joe was glad, he enjoyed watching Sweets face distort as he pushed in on the soft end of the cigarette.

"Don't worry kid, I've got a whole carton! We could get up to a pack a day!" Joe said with a laugh as he lit the next one. He stoked the end of it and looked at Sweets.

"What's the story kid, why you want to endure this, what you got to live for anyway?" Joe asked and when Sweets refused to answer he dug the cigarette in Sweets super sternal notch as though it were an ash tray. Sweets writhed against the pain jerking against the stubborn thick zip ties which cut further into his flesh. He had tried to avoid movement of them but it neared impossible as Joe worked his way thru the pack.

With a sigh Joe sounded as though he was bored and tossed the adventure aside.

"Well I don't know about you but I'm hungry. Let's do lunch." Joe said getting up to head out to the nearby kitchen. Sweets was still firmly held in place and was stuck there as smells entered the room – strong smells of intense spices, the heavy aroma of ethnic food. The heavy foods weighed heavily on Sweets stomach as he turned to throw up again but only dry heaves were offered.

The smell increased as Joe entered the room with a large plate of food and like before with the breakfast he brought it close to Sweets face to smell. Sweets green shade darkened as the smell turned his tender stomach, bruised sides and charred skin.

"Oh come on, it's good. Oh wait, you think its bad like before. Here let me show you its fine." Joe said taking big bites. "See?!"

Sweets returned to bouts of dry heaving while Joe enjoyed the sight. "You know if you don't eat now, who knows when you will get to eat again." Joe pushed the foot back towards the gagging Sweets.

Sweets knew Joe knew what he was doing, feigning the sense that if Sweets didn't eat he would be punished while it was a physical improbability to do so.

"Well, hope you don't get hungry later." Joe said leaving the room, the heavy smells still lingering profoundly in the air.

_Today is Sunday._ Sweets thought to himself. _Booth and Brennan are taking Christine to the pumpkin patch, I should have said I would go, they would know I would have missed it. How much longer will this go on? No, I can make it, I just have to make it. My friends will help me if I am unable to help myself, I can do this._

Sweets pulled on his hands once more but they were still held in place and now he longed simply for the limbs to be free, sleep to reenter his life. The burns and the stomach churn, the pain in the ribs were too much for him to relax enough to sleep but soon exhaustion outweighed comfort and he settled towards sleep.

Until Joe returned with a knife.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

**Recap 4: Sweets is subjected to burns big cigarette butts which cause him to pull against his restraints doing damage to his wrists. Joe is adept at these techniques being a prisoner of war himself. Joe leaves but returns with a knife.**

* * *

><p>Sweets supervisor seemed just as surprised as Booth where the young psychologist was. Multiple calls to Sweets phone garnered no response and Booth lost all interest now in heading to the diner for lunch. He wanted to call Brennan but he didn't want to alarm her just yet, he wanted more facts, he was detective, detectives got their facts.<p>

Booth checked the parking lot, Sweets car wasn't in its spot, and he definitely wasn't at the office.

Five minutes and he was in the office of some of the FBI techs. He hadn't been there before, he would use Angela when he needed stuff, and she didn't make him feel stupid like he thought these guys might. Still, if he told Angela why he was there, she would tell Brennan so here he was.

"Agent Booth!?" One of the tall and skinny techs named Leland asked as he entered the room. "Are you lost sir?"

"No, I was hoping you could help me." Booth said in a low tone. "I need you to track Lance Sweets phone."

"Dr. Sweets phone sir?" Leland asked confused. "I don't know if…"

Booth rolled his eyes. He knew this was why he went to Angela, less red tape type questions.

"Look, I'm not entirely sure anything is wrong, but I just want to check on him." Booth said.

"But sir if there is something wrong then we will need to fill out a form." Leland said, very by the book. It occurred to Booth that he would prefer that someone have a form before tracking his phone.

"Well, look Leland, I know this seems strange, but Sweets is a buddy of mine, he may have just had too many to drink last night, maybe he met a lady friend, I don't want to get people up in arms if it's nothing."

"You're concerned that Dr. Sweets got drunk and went home with a stranger?" Leland asked. Booth could sense a rumor growing.

"No, no, maybe he's on assignment." Booth said.

"But if he was on assignment then…"

"Forget it!" Booth shouted and then offered a boy next door smile. "This was just a test boys. You passed!" Booth left the room rolling his eyes and dialing Angela's cell.

"Hey Angela, it's Booth, I need you to do something but not tell Brennan." Booth said heading back to his office.

Booth stepped off the elevator when his phone rang.

"Booth!" Brennan said unhappy. "Why did you tell Angela not to tell me that you were tracking Sweets phone?!"

_Ugh, really? What was that like 14 seconds? _Booth said.

"Look, I didn't want to worry you." Booth said.

"Why would I be more worried than Angela? And what is there to be worried about? And why would you worry about me being worried?" Brennan asked. Booth noted that if she was trying to hide worry she had just failed miserably. Booth knew, though Brennan would not admit, the soft spot she carried for Sweets like a slightly older aunt. Booth would never say 'mother', not even in his inner thoughts of he might be on the receiving end of a firmly planted smack.

Booth had reached his office and headed to his desk.

"Look Bones, I've got no reason to worry." Booth said spotting an envelope on his desk from inner departmental mail. He opened it to find a dozen crushed cigarette butts. "Bones, are you at the Jeffersonian?"

"Yes why?"

"I'm on my way there."

* * *

><p>Booth was walking thru the door when four serious faces approached him before he hit the platform.<p>

"What's going on?" Cam demanded.

"Sweets didn't show up for work today." Booth said grim.

"Maybe he got laid." Hodgins offered.

"And not call into work?" Angela said with a huff of disbelief thinking of the punctual man she feared was wound too tight, so little did she know. "Sweets is way too professional for that."

"Okay so what's with the visit here?" Cam asked. "Shouldn't someone be checking his apartment?"

"I thought about that but then I found these." Booth said holding out the envelope. "On my desk."

Cam spied the interdepartmental envelope Booth handed to Brennan who carried it to the platform. Once there she laid the items on the examination table from the envelope. A dozen crushed cigarette butts toppled out onto the tray.

"Someone's trash?" Hodgins asked hoping.

"Not if someone left them on Booth's desk." Angela said picking one up with tweezers trying to make out the brand."

Cam took another and looked at it under the magnifier. "I'm not one hundred percent sure, no wait, I am, there is skin on this." As she said it, it was in the tone of her clinical case self. As she connected the fact that Sweets was missing to the fact these were on Sweets desk she felt a shiver go down her spine.

"Here let me see it." Hodgins said taking it from her, then realized the possibility as well that the "victim" was not nameless, rather instead, their friend, and that most likely, _all _the cigarettes bore DNA.

Hodgins swabbed the item and placed it in the machine.

"We're not seriously thinking that someone has, what, kidnapped Sweets and sent us, what whoa, if these had DNA on them, whoa…" Angela stopped talking so her mind could catch up to her lips.

"Booth, when was the last time you saw Sweets?" Brennan asked.

Booth knew she didn't mean it accusingly but he felt a pang of guilt as she said it. He knew Sweets had no weekend plans, no one to account for his movements, _Oh God, could he really have been gone all weekend? No, you know what, it's not Sweets', it's all a coincidence and some sick jerk…._

Hodgins moved the screen quickly but Booth saw what was on it first.

"Hey, what's that?" Booth asked.

Hodgins shoulders sank he had been caught and he moved the monitor back again.

"I wanted to run it again to be sure." Hodgins said turning the screen to reveal Sweets big smiling image from his FBI ID.

"Are you sure?" Angela asked feeling ill, eyes darting between the cigarette butts and Sweets smiling boyish face.

"99.9% sure." Hodgins reported and did not feel like the king of the lab to announce it this time.

"What the hell is going on Booth?" Cam asked.

"And is this the only thing that happened to Sweets?" Angela wondered.

Booth turned to Brennan whose eyes were locked on the screen, red at the edges.

* * *

><p>In truth it was not the only thing that happened to Sweets the day before. Joe returned with a knife and Sweets pondered how many tricks Joe had. He was slightly relieved with the fact it was a small knife, such as a paring knife. It did not however alleviate any stress about the fact Joe possessed it.<p>

Joe pulled the chair close to Sweets and took out a small stone. He rubbed the knife along the stone to sharpen it.

"Dr. Sweets when did you get your degree?" Joe asked.

Sweets shook his head, he was determined not to answer for the fact that Sweets was so young would most likely only enrage Joe. Sweets attempted to clear his parched and dry throat.

"Joe, tell me more about you, what did you do in high school?" Sweets asked. He wanted to divert Joe to a possibly happier time in his life.

"Captain of the football team!" Joe proudly declared. "Until I was drafted."

_Shit _Sweets thought, there went happy memories. "Serving your country is a very good thing be proud of." Sweets knew he had just tripped over his words but he was busy watching the knife get sharper. He forced his mind to try and think faster but the thoughts were jumbled thru the pain, the sickness and the lack of physical resources to draw upon.

Joe brought the knife close to Sweets still exposed chest while he was still tied down.

"Might as well use this position while we have it." Joe said. "No sense in having to get everything out again." Joe was talking but he was concentrating.

"Joe, we should talk ahhhh!" Sweets started to talk but seethed as Joe cut across one of the burns. It wasn't a long cut, it was short and only a small amount of blood was drawn.

Sweets began to breathe slower as the cut stopped and he spied the short distance. Joe smiled at Sweets look of relief. He held out a salt shaker and began to sprinkle it over the open wound.

Sweets eyes flew open at the biting pain. Joe moved to another spot, and another, and another, each one a cut and a smattering of salt. Sometimes they were over a burn mark, sometimes someplace new on his chest. All small cuts, all laced in salt. Sweets pulled at the restraints, ignoring the pain, damn near trying to pull his arms free from his wrists just to be away from the bed, no matter the cost. Joe held Sweets in place as his torso rose, he was sure to place ample pressure on his fractured ribs, enjoying the possible sound of them breaking further.

"Yes, the truth hurts Dr. Sweets. The truth is a painful thing. That's all we come to know isn't it, pain." Joe smiled. "Well it's all you'll come to know."

* * *

><p>Joe ate his dinner, returning to the dark room. <em>Too bad Dr. Sweets refused to eat. <em>He chuckled to himself as he walked in. The young man's head was bobbing back and forth, Joe was pleased he was not asleep. _No rest for you Dr. Sweets _Joe thought to himself as he pulled out a stereo and placed it next to Sweets. Joe was concerned however that if he felt Sweets tied down his arms and legs might not work. _It's no fun to torture someone if he can't feel it _Joe knew so he removed the wrist and ankle zip ties. He pulled Sweets tee shirt down and a little ended up on his shirt though by now most of the blood had dried. Joe liked the patterns the two dozen cuts had made and had an idea for the shirt for later, after the cigarette delivery.

Sweets arms didn't move and Joe set them to Sweets side so circulation could return, fun for another day. He threw the blanket over the psychologist so he wouldn't freeze before morning. Noting his restful appearance he turned on the stereo which had the desired effect of making Sweets jump with the electric guitar riff. Seconds later a symphony would play lulling Sweets towards sleep only to be juxtaposed with loud screaming, again causing him to jump and drift back to a lullaby and back to loud high pitches.

_I gotta get out of here _Joe said to himself. _This would drive a person crazy. _He hoped. Joe had to get going, tomorrow was Monday and he had a package to send. He smiled as Booth would now be helpless to help his friend. He couldn't stand by Sweets side and back him up this time, back up Sweets reports on him. NO! This time Booth would pay too, he had lots of plans for Booth…

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><p><em>Reviews? Like? Too much? How is Joe as a vilian? This time there isn't that same running story of a mystery, though there will be some with finding Sweets and Chamberlain and all. Always trying something new. Do we like mouthy Sweets? Does his pain get conveyed? These are things I wonder about! ;) Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed.<em>


	6. Chapter 6

6.

_Warning: Violence & Torture_

**Back to present Monday, Booth follows a gut feeling that something is off. Sweets car isn't in his usual spot so he's sure Sweets is not at work. After failing to enlist help from IT Booth turns to Angela to track Sweets phone who in turn tattles on him to a worried Brennan. Booth discovers a packet of cigarette butts on his desk. He takes them to the Jeffersonian who confirms Sweets charred DNA on the butts. Wondering if anything besides the cigarettes happened we flash back to Sunday evening when Joe issues small cuts on Sweets chest, some thru burns and pours salt on them.**

Joe stretched as he walked into the room with the sun gently rising Monday morning. He flipped off the switch on the boom box placed close to Sweets bed. Though he had tried many times thru the night he could not knock the noise box from the stand or unplug it. Every time Sweets moved the world spun violently in retort, the pains blossoming from the stomach, rubs, cuts, burns and sleep deprived headache. It had been three nights now with no sleep and his sense of awareness was faltering. _The mind needs rest_ Sweets knew but he had no idea at this point how to achieve it.

Joe continued to stretch, showing off how relaxed and comfortable he was. Sweets had no longer been tied down but he lacked a complete ability to move on his own accord. His body screamed in pain while his mind seesawed back and forth from its inability to find rest and rejuvenation.

"Well we have a little bit of work to do this morning." Joe said. "First you're going to need some water, don't want you dehydrating." Joe left for a water bottle and set it by Sweets hand but he only stared at it with eyes that held dark circles around them. "Don't want the water?" Joe said taking it back but Sweets fingers wrapped around the bottle. He knew he _needed_.

"I'll help, but it will cost." Joe offered opening the lid that Sweets was physically unable to do. Joe set it back in Sweets hand as he mustered the strength to lift the 16.9 ounces to his lips.

He found the strength build though his wrists still cried out in pain from the bruises of the zip tie incident the day before. Sweets balanced the bottle on his chest and tilted it back to his lips and took a drink feeling the room temperature water offer a much needed refreshment. The tilted bottle obstructed the view of joe and he took another sip, feeling the cool liquid slide down his throat when a pound to the chest caused him to suddenly choke on it. He tried to sit up from his position of lying down to stop choking but again the pain shot thru his body. He had to get the lodged water to pass by sitting up but the new blow to the chest on the bruises and cuts made the process far more difficult. Once his normal breathing resumed and he flopped back on the bed, exhausted and pained from the incident Joe smiled at him.

"Go ahead, take another drink."

Under normal circumstances Sweets wouldn't have taken the food or the water but he knew this was becoming about survival and he had to chance it each time. Joe's see saw between offering a pain free experience was intertwined with moments like these, leaving Sweets on edge, as Joe had planned.

"Go ahead." Joe said smiling.

Chances were Joe may have let him drink the water without a hit, but if he didn't could Sweets sustain another hit? He wondered this as he held the half full bottle in hand. He know he needed water but he knew he couldn't take any more hits and possibly choke.

"Okay, I'll take it." Joe said pulling it from his hands but Sweets pulled it back and threw the bottle forward, expelling the water in it on Joe who looked at his wet shirt surprised.

Sweets smiled at him and added, "Oops."

Joe's lip curled and he shook his head at Sweets. "I know you know that was a bad idea."

"Yeah, but you're an idiot."

"Something's got to be done to you and that smart mouth of yours." Joe said leaving the room.

Sweets felt a feeling of dread flood over him and yet a feeling of satisfaction that he had still struck back. Now it was time to pay the consequences, but the strike in his mind, though not his body, was reassurance that he was alive, and fighting.

Joe came back in the room with nothing in his hands but quickly jumped on Sweets chest, his weight crushed the injured man and effectively pinning him in place. Sweets squirmed under the weight as his own arms pressed into his sides and he was rendered stuck.

"You know why I have to do this don't you?" Joe asked and Sweets abandoned the movement to try and free himself from the impossible grip.

"Joe don't blame me for your issues." Sweets said, voice raspy and tired. "Me throwing water at you does not constitute for your actions. Besides…" Sweets let out a painful breath under the tremendous crushing weight. "You're going to hurt me no matter what I do or say to you anyway."

Joe smiled at the adept doctor. He was right, Joe was going to torture Sweets whether he talked back or not.

"But Joe ask yourself, is this really helping you any?" Sweets asked, breath running short under the weight. "Does hurting me make you feel better about losing your job?"

"Yes." Joe said with a nod. "I had a job, I've been doing it the same way for twenty five years - until you came along." He smiled. "You see doc, you just don't see, let me help you with that."

Joe pulled a vial with a dropper out of his black tee shirt pocket and used over large hand to hold Sweets head in place. Sweets watched as the dropped neared his eyes and smelling the bleach began to squirm, pinch, kick, any movement to jar the giant from his place but none of it worked. The drop landed in his mostly opened eye as Joe pushed the lid open. The second eye was harder to attain as Sweets flailed as the chemical burned his eye but Joe managed to get the drop in. He got off Sweets who rolled and fell off the cot to the floor, crushing his aching chest but his pain was concentrated elsewhere. His injured hands clawed at the sockets then he tried desperately to use his underlying tee shirt under his still unbuttoned dress shirt to wipe the excess off his eyes.

Joe took out Sweets cell phone again and pushing the cot aside, grabbed Sweets by the neck causing his motion to cease and brought the camera close to his red and sizzling eye and snapped a photo, dropping Sweets back to the ground.

"Gotta run some errands kid." Joe said leaving the room as Sweets continued to claw at his eyes.

In the silence, silence that was rare he could hear a door shut but his chief focus was on his eyes. On his pant leg he could feel moisture and he recalled the tossed bottle of water. He scrambled towards the wet pool on the floor and tried to splash the tiny drops in his eyes. His hand touched the bottle and though dying of thirst, almost literally, he chose to throw the last few ounces in his eyes. It wasn't enough as the filmy liquid was still present. The movement was excruciating as he moved about but he was in a greater desperate need to remove the chemical.

Sweets could barely see the door that Joe entered and exited was open and scrambled towards it in a pace that was quick to him but it was a realistically slow and painful pace. Once he reached the door and the frame he pulled himself up onto unsteady feet and lunged into the room. He couldn't see, his eyes still shut except at times creaked open a slit. He felt the edges of a countertop and followed it along until he felt the porcelain sink. He searched for a faucet while trying to remain standing. He had to lean forward to stay balanced on his feet, though the cuts and pains on his chest were enormous.

He located the faucet and immediately began splashing the water in his eyes. He wavered and fell then pulled himself back up rinsing again until the pain abated. Breathing heavily from the colossal (to him) task he slipped to the floor with a thud. He landed on his back and breathed heavily, attempting to catch his breath. Once he had calmed and the pain in his eyes faded some he took the cuff of his dress shirt and wiped his eyes. Once he eked them open he saw a watery blood on the sleeve. He wasn't sure if his vision was gone and he tried to blink. Some residue still stung and the images before him were like looking thru a cloudy filter. He could see, and hoped the damage wasn't permanent, that he had acted quickly enough.

He turned to see this room was not much larger than the one he had been in. He saw a door and awkwardly scrambled to it, punching the door when he saw it had no handle, only a double sided lock.

_Even if you get past this door kid, you won't get any farther_ Sweets remembered Joe saying and now he knew what he meant. Sweets turned back towards the small room to see if there was anything useful. It was a very small kitchenette with a table and one chair in the center of the room. The counter held a near empty case of water bottles, who remained and Sweets lunged for them, draining both and then refiling the last one more water from the faucet that he drained as well. He continued to drink until he felt some energy return and then began checking the drawers for a knife, a shard of metal, anything that could pick the lock or be used as a weapon. Each one proved to be empty and after each search Sweets felt hope fleeting. One upper cabinet held a loaf of bread that Sweets seized only to see half of it was moldy. Starvation had set in and he pulled the plastic open and located a few pieces that were not green and ate them in desperation.

Now slightly revitalized he looked around the room again with nothing to help free him here he went back to his room and steadied himself in the doorway. His feet felt cool and he looked down at his bare feet slapping against the wood floors. He looked at his once crisp blue shirt now wrinkled with blood spots in places, his tee under it coated in blood, salt and bleach, his pants that set on his hip, looser than they were a few days ago.

He was swaying but he reached the window and looked down. He didn't recognize where in town he was but there were other old brick buildings. He was in the city someplace, some city, somewhere. He found few people on the streets and figured this must be an older abandoned part of town. He looked out but there was no fire escape, just a straight drop five stories. It appeared industrial and he assumed it must be an older part of town where business had failed and moved on to newer buildings. It was then he spied a man on the corner. He held a brown Kraft envelope and stopped to light a cigarette. Sweets was desperate to get his attention. He tapped on the glass but the man several stories down couldn't hear him. Sweets opted for more desperate measures and turned to pick up the torture chair in the room and tried picking it up to throw thru the window. It took several tries but with desperation came adrenaline and he lifted the chair and drew it back to throw at the window with what he had left in energy.

While the chair was pulled back behind him for momentum it was pulled from his hands and Joe hit Sweets with it sending him back to the ground. Disoriented Sweets looked up in time for Joe to come over and deliver a series of swift kicks to Sweets chest and face.

"You shit you see that mess you made in there?"! Joe shouted throwing the chair aside. Sweets knew Joe wasn't so much as worried about Sweets escaping, which Joe must have known was impossible for why leave him 'free' to roam but more concerned about cleaning up after _someone else. _Joe pulled Sweets by the hair into the small dinette area and tossed him towards the moldy bread on the floor.

"Pick it up." Joe shouted. "No, you know what if you're so hungry, eat it."

Sweets suppressed the latest attack on his body and with a bloody lip he refused to wipe sat on the floor like a child and stacked up the moldy bread into a tall tower. Joe watched with delight as Sweets did as asked. Sweets them crushed the pile of bread, green and white mold covering his fingers and threw the bread at Joe.

Naturally the soft ball had little damaging effect to Joe but Sweets smiled, a drop of blood falling from his split lip onto his tee and informed Joe, "pick it yourself you worthless piece of sh…."

Sweets didn't get to finish since Joe was there before he could, slamming Sweets into the lower cabinet so he had nowhere to go. Joe shoved the moldy bread in Sweets mouth and held his nose shut forcing Sweets to swallow it until most of the mold coated bread was eaten.

"There that wasn't so bad was it?" Joe asked and Sweets responded but spitting one last nibble of chewed and moldy bread back at Joe.

Joe slammed Sweets head into the cabinet and things went dark.


	7. Chapter 7

7.

_Still do not own Bones (never sure if the disclaimer goes with every chapter or just the first one)._

_More violence ahead. You've been warned or promised, depends on your preference! ;)_

**Recap 6: Sweets gets offered water only to be sucker punched when he drinks it. He throws the rest of the water at Joe who reacts by putting bleach in Sweets eyes then leaves. Sweets finds water and washes his eyes out and also discovers there is no escape though he attempts to alert a man below only Joe returns and beats Sweets then forces him to eat moldy bread.**

* * *

><p>The five stood looking at the cigarette butts trying to phantom what had happened to their sixth member. Who took him? What did they want with him? And worst, what had they done to him?<p>

Booth's phone rang pulling him from his thoughts and teeth grinding that all could hear in the penetrating silence.

"Booth." Booth answered. "Where?" The others felt hopeful the question meant that Sweets was found but Booth's face remained non-committal. "Check security tapes, I want to know when…you did? What!? Friday? Yeah, call me if you know more."

The others awaited to be filled in.

"Sweets car wasn't in his spot this morning, they just found it in visitor parking. It's been there since Friday." Booth said while they gathered what that meant.

"So Sweets didn't leave work Friday?" Hodgins asked.

"No I walked out with him, someone grabbed him after we parted ways." Booth felt guilty though he had no direct reason to, he had no reason to walk Sweets to his car that he knew of, but still, the guilt was there.

"So someone has had Sweets since Friday night?" Brennan asked and looked back at the cigarettes.

Angela looked at her tablet and turned her head to one side and looked at Booth puzzled. She shrugged her shoulders and tapped on a link.

"We don't know anything for certain." Cam reminded them. "This could be some sick prank, maybe they had some DNA of Dr. Sweets…"

Brennan missed the notion of aiming to keep the others calm. "No Cam, this flesh is …"

Brennan stopped as Angela gasped and dropped her tablet.

"Whoa Angie" Hodgins said coming close to her. "What's the…oh God!" Hodgins said seeing the image and clutching at his hands.

"What is it?" Booth asked seeing their faces not in horror but in pain, he thought he could take it until he saw a hand with a series of needles protruding from under the fingernails.

"It was posted to Booth's LinkedIn Page." Angela said.

"What? I haven't been on that in months, I just did it because I kept getting invitations."

"Yeah, well, I saw a notification pop up that 'Seeley Booth posted a new photo' and I was like, that's weird because he's right here. And then I clicked on it." Angela explained.

"But we don't know that it's Sweets." Cam confirmed, the image was only a hand.

"It was posted from Sweets profile, someone has his phone." Angela said suggesting it was.

"We don't know for sure." Cam tried again.

"Agent Booth?" A security guard asked.

Booth had a feeling he knew what was coming in the brown Kraft envelope he was handed.

"This just arrived for you." The guard said and left.

Booth removed the package of pins inside and threw them on the table.

"I think we'll know now."

* * *

><p>Sweets eyes fluttered open and pain shot thru him in all directions. He was on the bed again, his wrists zip tied again but this time at his sides and to the metal frame. His feet felt strange and as he became more aware he felt the stinging sensation set in.<p>

"Good you're up!" Joe announced sitting by Sweets feet which were bound separately by several zip ties to severely limit movement. "I didn't want you to get a full hour's rest."

Sweets felt exhausted and knew once again he had had little sleep. His interest was drawn back to the occurrences and stinging on his feet. Joe looked to him and saw his curiosity and held up his paring knife again. Sweets stomach turned at the sight of it and then churned with the belly full of mold.

"Yeah we can't have you running around making messes." Joe declared. He went back to making cuts in Sweets feet and now that he was awake he made them deeper. Sweets seethed in pain.

"I tell you what, you start crying like a baby and I'll stop." Joe offered.

Sweets considered the notion for a moment, he would need his feet to run. He would need his mind to stay alive. He weighed the two as Joe began to cut deeper. Sweets sensitive feet would normally have just been subject to tickles but now the soft skin wanted to jump at every touch and cut, pulling and ripping skin against the restraint. While Sweets was fading from exhaustion and pain he wasn't gone yet. He bit his bottom lip and concentrating on the lathe and plaster cracked ceiling and tried to imagine what was going on at work for a distraction.

"I step out for just a moment to give a package to a man and you run around." Joe said shaking his head making more cuts as Sweets gripped the mattress as he did so. "Yeah, no more pins but I guess we'll find other things to make do with."

Sweets was relieved for a moment that the pins were gone but realized the man he had seen was merely a delivery man waiting for Joe, he wouldn't have done any good to alert anyway. That caused Sweets a query…_Wait, who did the man deliver the pins to?_

* * *

><p>"What do we have?" Booth asked pacing back and forth like a caged animal over the large table of pins.<p>

"What we have here Seeley…" Cam began in an irritated tone. "Is about 500 straight pins." She went back to sorting.

"Were they all used?" Booth asked trying not to bite his nails.

"No, I'm not getting DNA off everyone, only one so far." Hodgins said.

"Well, we need to know how many." Booth knew that wouldn't be important till a trial, what he was really saying was _I _need to know how many.

"It's going to take some time to test them." Brennan warned.

"Can I help?" Booth asked hoping to expedite the process.

"No Booth, if this goes to a trial we don't want to jeopardize the evidence." Brennan warned him with words but also a look that suggested he let her work.

Booth turned to bother Angela.

"What about the photo?" Booth asked. "Can you tell anything by it?"

Angela sighed, she had been working but she knew she didn't have the answers Booth was really looking for - 'where is Sweets and is he okay?'

"I can tell you that this photo, based on the time stamp was taken Saturday morning." Angela said. "And before you ask, yes Sweets phone is on but I can't track it, the signal is bouncing all over the place. Ten minutes ago Sweets was in Barbados and a half hour ago he was in Canada."

"I'm sure he wants to be anywhere but where he is." Hodgins mused.

"Isn't there something else in the photo that can help?" Booth asked painfully looking anywhere but at the metal fingertips.

"There's a wood floor, I can see it past the hand. But I don't think that's terribly unique." Angela said. "Otherwise all I can tell you is that there is what you would expect, some cuts and minor bruising on the hand, mostly likely from a struggle but I think we knew that no one would most likely subject themselves to this."

"Cigarettes and pins." Booth said rubbing his face. He turned to look at the pile of pins. From the photo he knew at least a dozen had been used, DNA had been found half way up the needle. Booth didn't want to imagine the pain that would cause. He choose not to focus on that but instead something that would help.

"This guy doesn't want to kill Sweets, he wants him to suffer, he's doing just enough to hurt but not to kill." Booth said thinking it thru.

Hodgins smiled. "You sound like Sweets."

"We need someone to so we can find him." Cam said swabbing another needle.

"I need to locate anyone who would be angry at Sweets, blame him for something." Booth reasoned.

"Like the dozens of criminals we have put away?" Hodgins asked.

"The possibilities are quite extensive." Brennan agreed.

"No prints on the envelopes or the pins and cigarette butts." Cam reported.

"He's covering his tracks." Angela noted.

"Yeah, but how did he know to get an interdepartmental envelope into my office?" Booth pondered. "You'd have to know the system."

* * *

><p>"Whoa, don't fall asleep just yet." Joe said slapping Sweets on the face. "Whew, it's been a few days in those clothes. We don't want you to start to stink!" Joe announced and left for the smaller door in the room. He opened it and Sweets heard water rushing, <em>a bathroom <em>Sweets thought and then began to wonder if there was anything in the room he might be able to use as a weapon.

Sweets ankles and wrists had been set free after Joe was done with his carving. Sweets rolled to one side and pushed himself up to a sitting position, the motion made him nacreous and he felt the sudden urge to vomit, surely food poising setting in from the moldy foods. Knowing the bathroom was ahead he considering running forward to it but as soon as he stood on his feet he gasped and sat back down, the pain of so many cuts made it impossible to stand.

Sweets threw up a pile of bread and water on the floor. Joe came running back in and placed the trash can for vomit this time which lasted several more minutes.

When the vomiting changed from solids to liquids to dry heaving Joe took the can away. Sweets fell back against the cot in exhaustion, famine and pain when Joe pulled him back up by his arm. As soon as Sweets rose to his feet he fell back to the ground and Joe looked to see the bloody feet on the ground.

"Oh right." Joe said pretending he had forgotten. "Well let's go." Joe said pulling Sweets behind him by the arm. His arm and chest pulled tight as he was being dragged but the distance was short. Joe propped Sweets up against the old claw foot bathtub in the old room. Joe pulled off Sweets dress shirt and tee shirt with great anticipation Sweets noticed, it was like he really wanted them. Joe set them aside and looked at the rest of Sweets that he was not as interested in.

"Alright, time for bath!" Joe said with a smile. Sweets was suspicious, Joe didn't do things to be nice. "I don't want to see your junk so you can just keep those pants on." Joe lifted Sweets up since he couldn't do it on his own and dropped him into the tub, his back slamming against the porcelain basin. Sweets seethed at the pain but realized it wasn't coming so much from there but everywhere, but specifically everywhere - everywhere there was a cut.

"Nothing like a warm bath, get the blood flowing. Oh, and they say the salt water is really good for you." Joe left with the shirts.

Sweets wasn't exactly sure where every cut was before but now he knew exactly where they all were as the salt stung into every wound.

Joe was whistling in the other room with sounds of going thru bags for something. Sweets knew as long as Joe was busy and enjoying himself then he was alive. It was when Joe lost interest. Sweets knew even if he had to keep prodding Joe along, talking back it gave Joe a challenge, and bought Sweets time to be found.

He looked down at his chest with the cuts and burns on his chest. He raised a hand out of the water and eyed the dark red lines and purple bruises around his wrists. He wondered how long he could hold really out.

* * *

><p>Booth left the Jeffersonian to speak with the director and inform him of his suspicions of Sweets disappearance. Without solid evidence or a ransom note the director was reluctant to move on it except for the fact that Dr. Lance Sweets was not the type of guy who missed work combined with the fact he could tell Special Agent Seeley Booth was greatly concerned. He went with Booth's gut that something was wrong and expended him manpower. Both men agreed that if deliveries were making their way into the FBI, then they needed to keep this on the down low until they could uncover what was going on.<p>

Booth assembled a small team of four people, people he could trust with the life of one of his people. It was late in the night as they poured over files, cases Sweets has worked on, criminals in prison with ties to the outside, criminals out of prison. Still with each file Booth didn't think he was headed in the right direction. Sure they had enemies, Pelant - dead, Gravedigger - dead. Random cases, no this seemed personal Booth reasoned. _And the evidence is being sent to me, he wants **me **to be involved, to suffer. Well jackass I am, you don't mess with my people, especially…_

"Everything okay Booth?"

Booth looked up to see Brennan standing over him with a bag of food in hand. He looked around to see the day had passed into evening and most people had gone home except for his team working away.

"You looked like you were thinking about something, something angry." Brennan explained.

"Yeah, I just don't know. I feel like I'm missing something." Booth said looking at the folders as though what he wanted wasn't in them.

"I brought you some food. Max is at home with Christine." Brennan explained and began on a few stack of folders.

"Bones, you can go home, it's late and…"

"It's late and Sweets is still missing." Booth noticed a strain in Brennan's expression. "The DNA on the pins was Sweets. I'd like to keep working." She flipped open a file folder and Booth didn't deny her.

* * *

><p>How much time passes Sweets wasn't sure. The water had grown cold and he had begun to shiver. The shuddering kept him alert and away from slipping into the deep tub and drowning. He was about to drift off again when he felt a small prick in his neck and looked up to see Joe walking away with a syringe.<p>

"What…." Sweets asked but quickly found he couldn't rub his neck where the prick had come. In fact, he realized all of his body wouldn't move, it was completely frozen in place.

"Wow, what water sure is cold." Joe said touching it. "Better let some out." Sweets watched as the water, slightly tainted with blood and salt went down the drain but Joe dropped the stopper and turned on the water again.

The water level rose recovering Sweets chest though this time he didn't denote the same high level of salt in it. _What's he up to_ his mind begged to ask. Sweets got an idea when the water covered his chest and rose past his chin. He closed his mouth and breathed thru his nose as the water level rose to a deadly level.

Joe again raised the stopper letting an inch of water out and Sweets breathed a relief again. Once he did Joe dropped the stopper and the water rose again. Sweets forgot about how cold the water was as his body now refused to budge in order to shiver. He felt panic rise but he could do nothing to move. The water reached his upper lip and he wondered if Joe would pull the plug again. Sensing he was not going to Sweets sucked in a quick breath of air thru his nose along with a little water. He held it in, his eyes watching Joe as he sat on the edge of the large tub with his snide little smile. The air wasn't enough and Sweets squeezed his eyes shut trying to hold onto the last few reserves of oxygen but began to sputter and opened his eyes to see the water was up to his eyes.

Joe let the water out though Sweets still sucked in water instead of air a few more times. As the water level dropped he coughed the water out in search of air instead. Once the air was back he looked at the train of the tub and saw the overflow was caulked off with plaster. The top of Sweets head was even with the top of the massive old tub. Joe dropped the stopper and smiled.

"Just once more."


	8. Chapter 8

8.

_This just in: I don't own Bones! (news beeping sound continues)_

* * *

><p><strong>Recap 7: Booth suspects someone with FBI knowledge is involved but also assembles a team to check into possible enemies from other cases. He works late into Monday night. Meanwhile for Sweets Monday night 'fun' as defined by Joe, Sweets feet are issued lots of small cuts so that he can't run away and then given a bath in salt water so all the cuts can sting. The night wears on and the water grows painfully cold when Joe returns to inject Sweets with drugs to keep him still while he raises and drops the water level nearly drowning Sweets.<strong>

* * *

><p>Sweets lay on the cot motionless as the moonlight changed to the notion of sunlight except it never quite came. He finally rationed the reason was because today, Tuesday, was rainy and overcast. He lay on his chest, his left arm dangling over the bed on the floor. It was the position Joe had left him in and he had been unable to move since removing the bath the night before. He could feel the drug starting to wear off with a tingle returning to his fingertips. He somewhat preferred the numbness that covered his body but the drug's motionless side effect left him with the inability to sleep as well. He was sure Joe selected it partially for the side effect, and a fourth night of sleeplessness.<p>

What was left was Sweets lying chest down on his scars and cuts he was sure would hurt when the drug wore off, facing out to the room where he drooled slightly and uncontrollably, day dreaming of food that would stay in his stomach along with some water. It wasn't a big dream he knew, but at the moment it was all he wanted. He had eaten twice in four days and thrown up both times.

His one small respite came from the new clothes which were warm at least. After one last plunge and gasping for air last night - one a little longer than Sweets could handle and nearly drowned, Joe let the water out. He left Sweets there to dry but really it only left him freezing. Joe underestimated the drug and the cold combination and almost lost Sweets but was glad he retrieved him in time. He pulled him from the tub removing the wet pants and looked the other way when he removed the boxers. Joe hadn't realized that by his motionless drowning plan came redressing the victim. Joe was a man's man and he wasn't into that sort of thing. It took him some time but he slid the lounge type sweatpants on Sweets and pulling him forward, put on a clean tee shirt as well.

Sweets noticed when Joe leaned him forward to put the tee shirt on his tall rag doll frame that he had paused, having seen the scars on Sweets back. He said nothing and drug the motionless drugged up Sweets across the floor and placed him chest down on the cot. Sweets assumed Joe placed him face down because wanted to investigate the scars more or possibly add more scars but he never came back that night. Instead the drug alone had kept Sweets awake and he was awake still, wondering when Joe would be back, what he had in store, if anyone would find him, and if he could hold out long enough.

_How are they going to find me? _Sweets began to wonder. Up until now he would assume they just would, they would find him Monday morning when Booth would have had Angela track his phone. But it was Tuesday now, and no one had come. He knew they cared about him so what was taking so long? It then occurred to Sweets that Joe had done something to block the phone being tracked. Here he was in a big city and no one knew where he was. Sweets notion of hope began to chip away with the fact that Joe had gone to far greater lengths than Sweets had imagined to keep him tucked away while the 'fun' continued.

* * *

><p>Booth hated the morning's heavy traffic so he often found his way around it via an old industrial district. He drove by it every morning on the way to work and found few people there granting him quicker travel. He was almost surprised when he saw a man on a corner waiting and smoking. Booth wondered why someone would be down here so early, no one was ever down here early. Still he abandoned the random man on the street corner among the old abandoned brick buildings. He'd had a couple of hours of sleep and was determined now that with a clear mind he would find Sweets. Too bad Booth had no idea he was so close every morning, too bad he didn't look up in his rear view mirror to see Joe crossing the street to talk to the man with the cigarette.<p>

* * *

><p>Booth checked in at the office making sure that everyone had something to work on. A couple hours later he left for the Jeffersonian and approaching the car he was paused in his tracks by a brown Kraft Envelope, far puffier than before. He knew he shouldn't touch the evidence but he peeked inside. He could see a white cotton tee shirt. He made it to the Jeffersonian in record time.<p>

* * *

><p>The team at the Jeffersonian stood ready and waiting for Booth once he arrived. It was as though they were emergency responders waiting for a patient to arrive at the doors. But this was important to them, evidence - evidence that could get them closer to finding their friend. Booth handed them the envelope and everyone raced to the platform.<p>

Cam slid the item out and Angela clicked away on the camera to document as they did so. Cam unfolded the shirt, laying it flat and already they saw the blood stains across the front. They was not a lot of blood, just speckles of it in many places. Everyone leaved forward, all wanting to do their own tests. Booth just wanted to know what it all meant.

Brennan touched the shirt with blue gloved hands, she wished Sweets was in the shirt, though not here on the table usually reserved for bodies. She tried to straighten her thoughts, focus on the task, not her fondness for the victim.

She cleared her throat and pointed to the blood spots. "Dr. Hodgins can you swab these and confirm that they are, uh, uh, Dr. Sweets?" She was surprised how hard it was to say his name.

Hodgins did as he was asked as Angela took photos still.

"Do you smell that?" Cam asked leaning into the shirt. "It smells like bleach."

"I noticed that too." Booth said standing at the shirt end end of the table.

Cam swabbed the shirt where she detected the bleach and gave it to Hodgins to run as well. She turned the shirt inside out and swabbed a few more blood spots that also seemed to have a few pieces of ash in them and gave the swab to Hodgins as well. They waited for him to process the results.

* * *

><p>"Well well Dr. Sweets, it's a dismal morning. But good news, we have some people with us today."<p>

Sweets was curious what Joe meant. He had randomly heard the noises and voices downstairs but having no one respond to his pleas for help he gave up on the idea they were real.

"You can get up or I can get you up." Joe said in a sinister voice.

Sweets tested his arms and though his body was sore he found it had regained motion. Slowly he stood and joined Joe at the window though he preferred not to, he did not want to start the day with more bruises. Joe pointed to people on the building across from them. Men were working on a roof. In the street below two men were unloading a truck. Directly below a young woman was about to enter the building to show it to two investors that we were with her.

"Pick." Joe told Sweets. Sweets didn't know what he meant but he didn't like the sound of it.

"Pick what?" Sweets barely audible voice asked. His vocal cords were about gone from the intense and repeated vomiting and dehydration.

"The victim." Joe said pointing to them. "See one of these people is a sex offender on the loose, trying to continue about their day undetected, but they keep hurting people. So if you pick the right one, I'll take them out, and society will be safe."

"You're lying." Sweets said looking back out the window, leaning against the window sill for support, taking weight off this injured feet, bare against the cold floor.

"I think you know better than that." Joe warned.

"Really? Because you've been such a peach to me." Sweets said sarcastically. Joe raised his hand but held his temper in and cleared his throat.

"But I've never lied." Joe told him. "Now do you want to give society a gift and save several victims from rape tonight?"

"And if I pick the wrong one, someone innocent would die." Sweets said.

"But I thought you were highly intelligent Dr. Sweets, you profile people." Joe said.

"I'm a profiler, not a mind reader. Just like you're a psycho, not a human."

Joe lost it this time and shoved Sweets back. Sweets didn't really care, he was expecting it, he figured antagonizing him might just make it come faster and get it over with and get him off his painful feet.

"Choose!" Joe shouted again but Sweets shook his head to the negative as he arched his sore back against the metal frame.

"You're going to want to choose." Joe warned him. Sweets knew something was coming out of the bag of tricks. Sweets had looked everyone over multiple times. He knew there were few ways to tell, profiling people from a bird's eye view wasn't exactly his forte combined with the fact he wasn't even sure they weren't illusions.

"I choose water. I need water." Sweets said growing tired. "Food." He laid his head back feeling dizzy and sick."

Joe came close and pulled him forward by the gray tee shirt. "Look you snot nosed kid, you pick or you'll regret it."

Sweets weight the options of killing an innocent person versus pain inflicted upon him.

"Bring it on Joe." Sweets said, voice filled with regret but he knew he had made the right choice.

Within moments Joe reappeared in the room, but Sweets had hardly noticed his head was spinning so much. With ease Joe tossed Sweets in the wooden chair and held him in place by his economy sized pack of black zip ties. Sweets head bobbed around.

"Water." He asked again, being sure not to plead but Joe ignored him. Sweets knew it was essential for at least water to prolong his own life. His heart pounded but he wasn't sure from what, he had so many injuries he didn't know which one would cause what reaction anymore.

Sweets was torn from his thoughts and jumped at the shock.

He looked at Joe who rocked back in with laughter. "Oh come now doc!" He said with a huge smile of delight. "I thought you shrinks liked shock therapy!" Sweets looked at what Joe had in his hands, two wires, one in each hand attached to something else Sweets couldn't see on the floor that led to a long cord going into the other room.

"Joe, this isn't how electroshock works." Sweets cautioned in a voice that failed him still.

"Wow, you sound pretty raspy, how about some water?" Joe offered him a bottle now

"No." Sweets said not wanting an accident between the electricity and the water. "Let's just, uh, let's talk. Part of electro shock is talking."

"But I don't want to talk doc. And like you said, this isn't how regular electroshock works." He laughed again as he brought the wires back towards Sweets again, and again, and again as Joe laughed.

* * *

><p>"Got it!" Hodgins shouted and everyone popped to life.<p>

"Okay, bad news, blood belongs to Sweets." Hodgins said reading the results. "Strangely mixed in the blood is sodium chloride."

"What like he spilled it or something?" Angela asked, hopeful that was all though she suspected not.

"No, this was mixed in with the blood sample." Hodgins explained.

"And sodium is salt right?" Booth asked.

"Yes, table salt." Brennan explained and looked for a rational reason it would be present in the blood sample.

"It was also combined in places with samples that matched the cigarettes we received yesterday." Hodgins said trying to figure out the conundrum.

It didn't matter because Booth already had, a fact they all realized when Booth picked up square tool on the table and threw it with impressive force at nothing in particular. The group stood shocked at his outburst. Booth gripped the table trying to get ahold of himself. Before anyone could ask he explained his conclusion.

"He burned Sweets with the cigarette butts then he cut him with a knife and poured salt on them." Booth's teeth were so gritted as he said it they had to listen closely. They looked back at the flat tee and could now visualize what Booth had described. Angela put her hand to her mouth to keep from, screaming? Crying? Vomiting? All of the above most likely.

Hodgins scratched his head at the thought, an image of their young friend enduring such things, on top of the needles they knew about already, _what else is there to know? _They all silently pondered.

"Was there something with the bleach?" Cam asked, hoping to get past all the facts so she could run to her office and scream, cry, hit something or all of the above.

Hodgins returned his thought to the results after he shook his head, his voice considerably lower this time. "Sodium hypochlorite."

Booth shook his head in annoyance "More salt?…"

"Bleach." Cam explained.

"Yeah and it's mixed with saline." Hodgins added.

"Saline would be found in the oculus." Brennan said confused. "Why would bleach be present?"

"Because the bastard put bleach in Sweets eyes." Angela said thru her own set of gritted teeth this time.

Brennan turned and left the platform with the intent to scream, shout, vomit, kill someone, all of the above. She had seen atrocities carried out on mankind before, but not on her friend.

* * *

><p>Sweets collapsed on the bed and drifted in and out of awareness as the buzzing in his skin and mind wore off. Joe seemed to enjoy zapping Sweets already sore sides the most though he eventually lost interest. Sweets lay on his side facing the wall, the direction he was when he landed. He tried to hold onto hope but with each new torment filled with anguishing pain it dimmed a little more.<p>

Moments later Sweets could smell food coming into the room. Joe sat it next to the bed along with two bottles of water.

"As requested." Joe said and turned to leave. "Oh consequentially since you couldn't pick, they all die."

Joe left the room and Sweets shook his head, another trick by Joe. He reached for the water wondered what strings were attached this time. He then heard some noise downstairs, voices, he recalled the woman showing the building to the investors. Sweets cleared his throat and to call out for help, _someone is here! _He took a drink of water to aid in his voice carrying down to them but when he took the bottle away he heard a familiar voice, Joe.

The woman's voice followed "Oh, hello, I wasn't aware anyone was showing the…"

The voices began to scream and three shots were fired. Silence followed. Sweets was sure he would be sick, and had no interest in breakfast or the water.

* * *

><p>"There's one more thing in here." Cam said looking in the envelope. Once they had seen the shirt they had ignored the envelope. Cam reached in for the paper in the corner.<p>

Booth had started to leave to follow Brennan but he waited now. He saw the look on Cam's face and shuddered within. She handed it to Booth who looked at the business card. The front was a standard FBI business card but the name "Agent Joe Chamberlain" was crossed out. On the back was a hand written addition, "Booth, betcha won't find him in time."


	9. Chapter 9

9.

* * *

><p><strong>Recap 8: Sweets has new clothes, Booth unknowingly drives by Sweets location each morning, Joe administers his own version of electro shock when Sweets won't choose victims off the street to kill, Joe goes off to kill people anyway. The team deduce some of what has happened to Sweets so far. Joe has left them a clue that he is the one who has Sweets.<strong>

Sweets knew that Joe was capable of killing people, it's what got him send to Sweets in the first place. _But these were complete innocents _Sweets wondered if Joe was leaving to go across the street and kill the others like he promised he would. Sweets heaved a sigh, he had to stop this monster for killing more people, he had to get out while he still could. A frightening thought occurred to Sweets. He knew who Joe was, he could identify him, Joe would have no plans to let him live. He also had a fear that Joe would take his anger out on others, Booth, Brennan, the squints. _I have to get out of here_ Sweets resolved. _With what strength? _He asked himself, barely able to literally lift a finger, let alone his whole body. _The mind is mightier than the brawn. _Sweets developed a plan.

* * *

><p>The glass shattered against the wall in a spectacular explosion. No one would have been able to reassemble the large beaker glass, it was throw with such force a few of the squints thought the particles actually dissipated upon implosion. Cam waved away the passerby's while Booth looked for another innocent beaker to throw.<p>

He saw Cam looking at him, the look wasn't of disgrace but of agreement, she felt the same but throwing glasses wasn't going to help. Booth tried to compose himself and get his mind going in the right direction. He ran his hand thru his hair and with a plan in hand he pulled out his phone.

Brennan's tears were moved aside upon the sound of the glass and she quickly returned to the platform.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Apparently Agent Joe Chamberlain…" Hodgins said slowly having just read the name off the card "…he has Sweets."

"Why would the kidnapper just tell us who he is?" Brennan asked confused.

"Because he's an asshole who thinks he's smarter than everyone else. He's playing with us." Booth said then got who he wanted on the phone. He ordered that every address of Joe Chamberlain be searched, he didn't expect him to be there but he wanted it combed for any clue where he went to.

"He probably knows how to cover his tracks if he's an agent." Angela said mostly thinking aloud but Booth shot her an angry look. She was right, but Booth didn't like it, he didn't like this game, not when his people were chiefly involved in it.

"He's not that smart, he'll slip up in some way." Booth promised. "Let's go over everything we have again."

They looked at the tee shirt again and the business card with the threat on the back, not a lot to go on. Until fate interviewed and Booth's phone rang.

"Booth here." He answered quickly. "Yeah, yeah. Yeah. That's all? What? Yeah I'm on my way."

"Lead?" Cam asked anxiously.

"A woman was found handcuffed to a flag pole in the downtown square. She had been shot with a tranquilizer gun. She can't remember all that happened but she had a business card in her pocket." Booth said pointing to Joe Chamberlain's.

"Let's go." Brennan said heading for the door.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later they found the real estate agent and questioned her on what happened.<p>

"I just went to show a place in the old industrial district. This guy he came down, asked what we were doing there, fired this damn dart at me." She said angry.

"Is this the man?" Booth asked holding out a photo of Chamberlain.

"Yeah, I think so. It's all a bit fuzzy right now."

Brennan realized something. "Wait, he was already in the building when you went in?"

"Yeah, he came in, I don't know from where. Where are the two gentleman who were with me?" She asked.

Booth & Brennan shook their heads but they didn't like the sound of the missing men.

"You think he's still there?" Brennan asked Booth anxiously as they moved to one side.

"He's too smart to stay there." Booth said. "But we might find some clues."

Booth got the address form the real estate lady.

"That's weird. I drive by this place every morning." Booth said as they left.

* * *

><p>Joe stepped back in the room and Sweets stiffened at the sight of him. Joe picked up the very cold breakfast from hours before.<p>

"Not hungry?" Joe asked.

"Lost my appetite." Sweets said.

"That's a shame. Wasn't even poisoned this time." Joe said. "You're not a real smart guy are you?"

Sweets shot him a glance of pure unamusement but he remembered his plan.

"Well Joe if you are so smart, why don't you educate me. Tell me about your time as a prisoner of war."

Joe gladly pulled up a chair close by Sweets. "I was there for three years. All this…" Joe said nodding to Sweets body. "Child's play from what I went thru."

"Did you enjoy it?" Sweets asked.

"What are you nuts? Of course not." Joe said.

"So why would you make others endure what you once did, you have the opportunity Joe to stop the same actions from repeating." Sweets said trying to sound even like his usual therapist self.

"No, you see **I **didn't deserve it." Joe said. Sweets recognized the same behavior in Joe as he had before, nothing was Joe's fault.

"You're right Joe, you didn't deserve it." Sweets said. "A lot of people have things done to them that they do not deserve."

Joe mulled the thought over in his mind a moment. "You mean now or those scars on your back?"

Sweets never liked to talk about them, but if it would get him out, then he would. "Both Joe, I don't think I deserved either of them."

"What was it before?" Joe was a natural curious sort. "Some weird teenage thing?"

"I was five Joe, when I got those." Sweets eyes narrowed in on Joe's. "Do you know a lot of five year olds that deserve those?"

The reality caught Joe off guard. He hadn't expected that – the young age, the depth of the psychologist he saw a snot nosed know it all.

"We all have scars Joe. It's what we do after them that makes us who we are." Sweets said, the harshness of his voice softening, trying to appeal to Joe's humane side he hoped existed somewhere.

"I didn't realize that." Joe said thinking of a young boy who was treated so poorly. "Parents shouldn't do things like that."

Sweets breathing began to quicken, he was getting Joe on his side he hoped.

"What did you do to get them?" Joe asked and Sweets didn't like where this was going - blame.

"Same thing as you Joe, nothing."

Joe began to talk but he heard a noise downstairs and smiled. Sweets didn't like that kind of smile.

* * *

><p><em>Okay, so sorry this was shorter than I had planned but my eye goop situation is not getting better and I literally cannot see. Hopefully more tomorrow!<br>_


	10. Chapter 10

10.

_So I have pink eye! Isn't that fantastic? Yeah I'm not excited about it either. But what it does mean is that I can't go anywhere nor can I practically touch anything that anyone else does. However that excludes my laptop which only I use! So I may be getting a few chapters in here….._

_Also, from a previous review I got a proposal for a story which led to a series of ideas. What would you think of a story where Daisy died in childbirth and left Sweets to raise the child? Would this be interesting to read? I could see some sad and some comedy involved. I have an idea how to lead into it but wanted to see if there was interest, it's sort outside my usual but that could be a good thing! ;)_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Recap 9:<em>**

**_Booth & Brennan get an address from the real estate lady that Joe has shot with a tranquilizer gun. Sweets knowledge is that all the people Joe threatened are dead. Joe & Sweets chat about scars but their conversation is cut short when noises come from downstairs._**

* * *

><p>Booth knew the area well as he went thru it each morning. Brennan took in the architecture of the buildings as they went by, wanting to comment but her thoughts were elsewhere.<p>

"A penny for your thoughts?" Booth asked her.

Brennan pulled out her purse confused on why there was an exchange of funds involved. Booth stopped her.

"It's an expression Bones, it's a way of asking what you are thinking."

"Then why don't you just ask me what I'm thinking?" She asked confused.

"How do you go thru life missing out on very expression? You know what, nevermind. What's on your mind?" Booth asked. While married to and deeply in love with this woman sometimes he wasn't sure if she was calculating gas mileage, looking at architecture, grading his driving, reviewing the case.

"Sweets." She said.

_Or that. _Booth said to himself. He thought she might be thinking of it but then again he thought maybe not. Maybe he hoped not because he didn't have any answers for her, at least none that he liked.

"He's been gone for four days Booth. What else has Chamberlain done to him?" She mused.

Booth hadn't wanted to think of it. He knew that Chamberlain had done a lot of damage in the first two days, he was sure there was more. He wanted to find Sweets, he was following the clues, he was doing what he knew, but this was going to slow, he wanted results **now! **He wanted _Sweets _back now.

"I don't know Bones. But we need to find him."

They pulled up outside the address the real estate agent gave them. The approached the door and went inside. A familiar smell penetrated their senses and following it on the first floor of the abandoned gothic style building they located a corpse, burned down to the skeleton.

Brennan had never jumped at the sight of a skeleton until now and Booth wondered why. Then he guessed her assumption and his stomach turned.

"It, it can't be him." Sweets said staring at the remains frozen in what looked like a screaming position."

Brennan was stuck between wanting to look closer and not wanting to. She pushed forward and looked to the skull.

"Victim is male, Caucasian." She said her voice wavering. She started at the bottom ridgeline of the teeth and her head sank. Booth's stomach turned until she looked up at him with a smile. "He's in his mid-fifties."

"Jesus Bones don't scare me like that." Booth said looking around.

"Could this be one of the men who were with the real estate agent?" Brennan proposed.

"Could be, so where's the other one?"

* * *

><p>Sweets hadn't seen Joe since he left the room with his perfected creepy smile. He listened carefully as he heard a door open and voices. The voices sounded familiar. <em>They can't be…. <em>Sweets said to himself and shook his head. _No, it's more of his tricks and recordings downstairs…. Make me think there are people here…But wait last time there were….no, it's just a trick, forget it…but what if? Hope never dies, you have to keep trying…_Sweets told himself. He steadied his breathing to prepare himself to shout. His multi-injury chest was going to make shouting painful but it just might be worth the try he figured.

Just as he was about to let out his first shout for help Joe appeared at the door, a man in front of him, wrists bound behind his back and a gag in his mouth, his eyes covered. Joe had a gun in his back and motioned him to the chair to sit down. The man was nervous and fearful. Sweets eyes shot back to Joe who stood smiling still.

The voices downstairs continued and with the lack of insulation in the floors Sweets could now easily identify them as Booth and Brennen.

"Booth what's this?" Brennan said taking a card from the corpse's hand. It had been placed there after the body had finished smoldering.

"It's a business card, Chamberlain again." Booth said angry. He flipped it over. "Getting warmer."

"That is not funny." Brennan said looking at the burned corpse.

"Unless it means something else." Booth said looking around. Sweets felt his heart race increase as he heard Booth say that. Booth was thinking of the game 'getting warmer, getting colder.' Sweets wanted Booth to look around and find him but he didn't want Joe to shoot him either.

Sweets bit his lip thinking of what he could do. Joe held the gun to the man's head as he watched Sweets closely. Sweets understood the game now, he had to listen to his friends search, so close while he was powerless to call out to them.

"I'm getting a team to search this place, maybe Chamberlain left behind a clue, maybe Sweets left behind a clue." Booth said. Sweets saw Chamberlain still looking at him as the two below spoke. Sweets wondered how Joe was so confident they would not be discovered. Sweets could shout out for help but the man before him would be shot, and he would most likely be killed as well. He weighed the pain of possible additional torture from Chamberlain but he couldn't risk this man's life.

"I'm getting a Cam and Hodgins over here to collect the remains." Brennan said making a call.

"Yeah, I'm going to get a team here to tear every inch of this place apart." Booth said placing a call. Sweets looked to Chamberlain who didn't appear concerned in any way about that.

The man in the chair began to whimper. Chamberlain nudged him with the gun but he only began to weep more. Growing irritated Chamberlain pulled a silencer addition from his pocket. Sweets felt a panic and reached his hand out to pause him.

"Sir, can you hear me?" Sweets said in a voice low enough that Joe accepted it as not being detected.

"Y….y….yes…." The man said.

"Okay, if we just be very quiet, I promise you the man who brought you here will let you go. You might hear some noise, but if you are quiet, he will let you go." Sweets eyed Joe who nodded in agreement. While a monster he began to gather that Joe was a man of his word.

* * *

><p>Soon Cam and Hodgins arrived. Sweets could hear them collecting evidence and speaking in their usual scientific tones. In a way it offered a solace to him, a familiarity that brought him comfort as the two coworkers exchanged comments.<p>

"Do you think we will find him?" Hodgins said, the conversation turning.

"Joe?" Cam asked.

"Sweets." Hodgins corrected.

"I hope so." Cam said not wanting to say more.

"What if…"

"We don't do what if's Dr. Hodgins, we get results." Cam said in a stern voice. "We will not let Dr. Sweets die, that is not who we are."

Sweets felt a tear roll down is cheek, the side away from Joe that he may not have even caught. The statement seemed to irritate Joe but it revived Sweets. His attention was brought away from the conversation when a noise rattled nearby. The man in the chair made a whimper and Sweets gave him a low hush.

"This wall seems weird." One of the agents said.

"What do you mean?" Booth asked coming close. "Looks like brick like the rest."

Booth's voice was near, Sweets could tell he was on the wall the other side of the dinette area he had seen yesterday.

"Yes, but the square footage doesn't line up." The agent said looking at the blue prints.

"No, you're looking at it wrong." Another agent said. "This is a mechanical room. Wait, that doesn't make sense either."

Booth studied the wall which looked like the rest.

"Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan needs you." Another agent called to him.

"Keep searching." Booth said. "Figure out what's with this area."

Booth walked away and Sweets listened carefully.

"What the hell does he mean keep looking? Figure this out? It's a wall!" The agent said. "Come on, let's walk around more."

The group moved away from the other side of the door and began to search the floor above.

"What you got Bones?" Sweets heard Booth say. He was interested in the conversation though his hope deflated that they might come busting in thru the door.

"I think we have an ID on this victim." She said pulling out a partially burned wallet.

"Walter Long III." Booth said reading.

"We confirmed, it was one of the men who was with the real estate agent." Cam informed him.

"What about the other man?" Brennan asked.

"No sign of anyone else so far." Booth said.

Sweets looked across to the blindfolded and gagged man. _I know where he is _his thoughts filled with anger said.

"Okay well let's get this all back to the lab." Brennan said.

"Agent Booth, we have some information on your victim." An agent said approaching.

"What's that?" Booth asked.

"Dr. Brennan ran a scan and sent it to Mrs. Montenagro at the Jeffersonian before we found the identity. The image matched a wanted poster we had. This man has multiple identities but the image all matches to a Christopher Romero who has been eluding us. He's wanted for multiple charges, he's a wanted sex offender."

Sweets eyes looked to Joe while smiled a _told you so_ grin.

"Okay, well looks like we've got everything we can get from here." Booth said and everyone began to pick up their stuff.

"Nothing upstairs?" Booth asked the agents returning.

"No, nothing sir." They said and went out the door.

Booth & Brennan stood in the room alone, the first to arrive the last to leave.

"What is it Booth?" Brennan asked.

"I don't know what it is, I just don't want to leave here."

"Still have hope?" Joe asked Sweets as the front door shut.

"Always." Sweets answered.

"We'll see what we can do about that." Joe said as he pulled the trigger.


	11. Chapter 11

11.

_In case you were wondering where the title came from, I pulled this idea from the book Misery though instead of the fan capturing the writer it's patient capturing the doctor._

_New idea developing… although I didn't see the season opener I know Sweets is in the garage and gets beat up. Ah but this time, he lives, solves the case but it's too much for Daisy and she goes into labor and dies during childbirth so he must raise the baby alone! Something he knows nothing about so he gets lots of help from Booth and thus we have more Bromance…. Thoughts on that idea? I could just continue to rewrite the whole series lol. What's the new guy? Oh, Aubrey, let's get rid of him, he looks like a tool._

* * *

><p><strong>Recap 10: Joe holds the other man with the real estate lady hostage to force Sweets to keep quiet while Brennan &amp; Booth investigate a burned body on the first floor. The body is that of the other man with the real estate agent, who was the aforementioned sex offender by Joe.<strong>

* * *

><p>Sweets was confused as he woke. Joe had pointed the gun at Sweets and fired but after he looked himself over he found no wound. After some time he did notice a metallic taste in his mouth and he realized he had been shot with a tranquilizer dart. Sweets looked to the empty chair. He didn't detect blood but he could smell bleach. He had no idea what happened to the other man, and if Sweets promise had gone unfulfilled.<p>

The room was shrouded in blue, Sweets knew it was late at night. He touched his fingers which felt dry. He touched his face which felt strange as well. He wasn't tied in place so he tried to sit up but it was too difficult. Sweets was tired of feeling sick. He wasn't sure how much time had gone by, he knew four days. Four days of sleepless nights and lack of food and sufficient water. _When will Joe have had enough_ Sweets wondered to himself.

He took another breath and tried to sit up again, he was tired of lying down. He was surprised that this time he sat up with ease. He felt light, he felt good, he felt free! Sweets began to walk towards the door and looked back at the bed. He was still lying there. He went back over and looked down at himself. His self-looked up at him.

"What are you looking at?" The lying down Sweets asked.

"What, what are you doing there?" The standing Sweets asked. "You're not dying are you?"

"If I am you are stupid." Horizontal Sweets said to vertical Sweets. "Don't you get it, you're having hallucinations."

"Wait, I'm having one or you're having one?" Veridical Sweets asked.

"We're the same person dumbass." Sweets yelled but his head pounded. He was pretty sure he was the real Sweets because the other one seemed to have no pain.

"Well if I'm the dumbass then why are you the one lying there getting the life sucked out of you?"

"I'm working up a plan." Sweets said though he knew he hadn't gotten very far yet. _My thoughts are a mess, I'm a wreck physically and I'm arguing with myself, literally._

"Well you need to come up with a plan quicker." His self said standing over him. "You know you can't take much more of this."

"Why can you wonder around so freely?" Sweets asked his self that walked around.

"As you so eloquently pointed out my self, we're the same person. You can walk out of here if you want. Sure your feet a going to hurt and you're not able to breathe or stand on your own, but you'll figure it out. We're a whiz kid remember?" Sweets gave himself a big smile.

"I don't know." Sweets said but tried to sit up again, the broken ribs encouraged him to sit back down.

"That's the difference between us you know." Sweets said taking a seat next to himself. "See every person is really two people, one who is hopeful and can do anything and the other who is well, Chicken Little, and wants to give up."

"And I'm Chicken Little?" Sweets asked.

"Don't ask me ask him." Sweets said pointing to the dark corner of the room.

Sweets looked to the corner and saw no one then looked back at the chair, which was empty. He looked back at the dark corner again and then saw a small boy. It hurt but he sat up. _Dammit Joe, if you've kidnapped a kid I swear I'll….wait…I know…._

"Don't hurt me!" The child said jumping.

Sweets heart melted and his head pounded.

"I'm not going to." Sweets said leaning forward on the bed, unable to hold his weight his chest lay on the bed, his feet where his head was as he now looked eye to eye with the boy.

"You got out of a bad situation once before." The boy said to Sweets.

"Yeah, I did." Sweets thought back to that day when he was six.

"Then you should do it again." The boy said hopeful. "For both of our sakes."

"I don't know if I can do it again." The dark chocolate adult eyes said to his former child self. "You were a brave kid."

Sweets realized he had just admired himself, but as he thought back to that day, he was still amazed what he could do.

"I didn't do it alone though." Adult Sweets said.

"Well sort of, you told the right people, even with _him _standing right there." The boy Lance said eyes full of wonder. "You did it once you could do it again."

"Could I?" Sweets asked himself.

He looked back and the boy was gone. He looked at his fingers, still pained from the needles but he put the thought away. As he did his index finger fell off, followed by his ring finger, then middle finger, then pinky, then thumb. He looked at his other hand as the digits fell off in the same fashion.

"Joe, what the hell did…." Sweets said but his head swan in a violent swirl. He looked over at the empty chair, his chipper "can do" self was tied to the chair screaming in a silent pain.

"No, don't hurt him." Sweets said, he didn't want to lose that part of him, the part of him that was eternally hopeful.

"Stop me." Sweets heard the challenge.

"Sweets went to move but he looked and his feet were no longer attached, they were sitting by the bed, as though they were shoes to put on another day. Sweets went to push up on the bed with his fingerless hands when his arm bent. He figured his weight had collapsed but when he looked his right arm lay on the floor.

_Not good _Sweets said to himself. His head swirled again as he watched a translucent Joe begin to torture his chipper half.

"No, stop!" Sweets began to shout. "Leave him be!"

Sweets turned on the bed curling into a ball and then lying straight again. He felt like he was inside a machine that kept turning and turning, like a concrete mixer, with each turn getting more and more ground down. Sweets looked at his skin which was melting off his body and onto the floor.

Joe smiled from the doorway and looked back at the syringe in his hand. _That stuff is more powerful than I thought! Oh, maybe I used too much. Oh well, he seems to be having a good time. Besides, if he loses his mind he's a psychologist right? _Joe laughed as he left the room as Sweet rolled off the bed grasping at air as though putting his fingers back on.

* * *

><p>"It's getting late, maybe we should call it a night." Cam said placing a hand on Brennan's shoulder.<p>

"No, it's fine." Brennan said looking at the photos again. Cam sighed, she knew this wasn't healthy though to a degree she understood.

"Dr. Brennan it's nine p.m. on Wednesday night. You received there remains on Tuesday. They aren't going to tell you more." Cam said trying to urge the doctor who had been working non-stop since they not only found the burned remains in the old industrial building but another victim as well.

"Has Booth called about the other man?" Brennan asked looking at her phone.

"No Dr. Brennan, that man is still in a coma." Cam reminded her and she went back to the photos pulled from the phone in the man's pocket.

"Dr. Brennan…"

"I got it Cam." Booth said stepping up on the platform. Cam's eyes darted back and forth between the pair, both with dark circles around their eyes, worry heavy in their expression, exhaustion mixed with worry was never a good cocktail. Had Cam taken a moment she would have seen the same look on her own face, not realizing her stoic pose has cracked some in the last day.

"Booth don't you dare stand there and tell me we are going home!" Brennan said angry, her voice wavering with anger and fear.

"Christine is with Max. I was going to ask if you wanted to go over it from the top again." Booth said pulling up a stool opposite her. "We've definitely missed something."

Brennan sighed as she was glad Booth wasn't going to demand they go home. She knew though he didn't voice it that he hadn't slept nor hardly ate since Sweets was gone. Their baby duck was gone, and without family of his own, Sweets was their family to worry about, a job they took on willingly. And like any parent they would not accept losing him.

"Got another chair?" Hodgins asked ascending the platform. "Angie's with Michael Vincent but I can call her with any questions."

"Hodgins you look tired. Maybe you should…" Booth began.

"That's the look of the day Booth." Hodgins responded. "Yeah I can go home but you know what? I'd only be thinking about being here."

Aristo kissed Cam on the head. She had stood looking at the trio for five minutes. "I'll bring a change of clothes in the morning." Before she could argue he continued. "Cam this is where you want to be. I'll get some sleep so I can help tomorrow. But right now, you know this is where you are needed."

Cam kissed him back and rushed to the platform.

"Let's run thru it again." Cam said.

They went thru the evidence.

"Sweets disappeared Friday after work." Hodgins began looking at their timeline. "He endures a series of unspeakable acts we are familiar with so I'm not going into details."

"Right then the needles and photo shows up." Cam said. "And then the shirt."

"That's when we knew it was Chamberlain." Brennan said.

"Then we got the real estate agent who led us to the body in the industrial district, also with Joe's card." Cam said. "What is it Booth?"

"Something about that building bothers me." Booth said and eyed the brown envelope. Something about the envelope came to his mind but he wasn't sure why.

"Your agents picked the place apart didn't they?" Brennan asked. "There was no evidence Sweets had been there."

"Well that brings us to yesterday, when the other missing man showed up in a hospital." Hodgins said.

"Right and he's still unconscious. So he's not helping." Cam said rubbing her head.

"He has excellent brain activity, as soon as the swelling from the blow to the head goes away he should recover and be able to talk to us." Brennan reminded them.

"Yeah but how much longer." Booth stated but Brennan started to take it as a question and paused when she realized what Booth meant.

"But the one thing he did have was Sweets phone." Hodgins said flipping thru the photos on the table. Photos of sweets burning red eye, Sweets lying on a bed staring at the ceiling trying not to move as he was in pain. That photo bothered Brennan the most because she knew that Sweets was unaware it had been taken.

"In this photo he's still wearing his dress shirt." Hodgins remarked. It was hard to see with the blanket covering him.

"So?" Cam asked.

"Well in this photo," Hodgins said pulling out another "he's wearing a tee shirt." It stabbed at Hodgins heart to see the photo. Sweets eyes had dark circles around them, his wrists were red, he was thin and sick looking. Again in the photo he did not know he was being photographed as he knelt on the ground grasping at the wood floor.

Booth flipped the photo over so he didn't have to look at it. He had seen gruesome crime scene photos before, this was different, this was Sweets, and this was his friend.

"I still can't figure out what he's doing here." Cam said looking at the photo, studying the act more than the person. "It's like he's trying to pick up something invisible."

"The photo is definitely taken after the other one." Hodgins said pointing to the one with the shirt.

"His health is deteriorating." Cam said looking at the photos side by side. She said it clinically as an observation and then regretted it. No one said anything more on that topic.

"There has to be something there." Booths aid taking the first photo of Sweets on the bed. "You guys find stuff all the time, a building outside the window, a reflection." Booth shoved the picture at Hodgins.

"Yeah, but Booth while I can tell there is a window letting in some moonlight, I can't see the window."

"Well do it Hodgins, just find a clue." Booth shouted. The two women were startled at what they were seeing.

"Booth, I can't identify a building from a crack in the wall or a wood floor!" Hodgins shouted back.

"Well what good are you?!" Booth shouted as the two men stood nose to nose. Booth's face cracked. "Dammit Hodgins…" Booth sank back in his chair. "Just….find him…."

The trio could see the guilt emanating from Booth. Though there was nothing the agent could have done they couldn't help but see the weight he carried, the weight for the safety and welfare of his people.

"We'll get him back Booth." Hodgins promised, the roles reversed a moment on the exhausted and agonized agent.

Booth felt embarrassed to a degree for his outburst. "I need some fresh air." He got up to leave and Brennan stood too but he motioned for her to stay.

"It's moments like this I wish I smoked." Cam said.

Booth stopped dead in his tracks.

"Smoke?" Booth said.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't…." Cam said but she could see Booth wasn't about to admonish her for a nicotine habit.

Booth had a memory of a man on a corner, smoking, holding a brown craft envelope. Booth lunged forward for the evidence bag and pulled it open with much vigor.

"Smoke." He said smelling the envelope.

"Yeah the cigarettes were delivered in it." Hodgins said.

"Not this one." Booth said holding it out. "This one only had the tee shirt and card."

Booth's heart sand when he remembered where he saw the man with the cigarettes. On the corner, across the street from the industrial district. The building he drove by every morning. The building they were in yesterday.

Booth gritted his teeth as he left for the door. "That sonofabitch is gonna die."


	12. Chapter 12

12.

_I really enjoy writing, so if you enjoy reading it, I'm pretty sure I'll always have something for you. Just follow me and I will provide you with words like an addict is supplied with CocoPuffs. ? Please review if you like, it is helpful and encouraging.  
><em>

**Recap 11: Sweets is given a strong hallucinogen that makes him think he is talking to the more positive version of himself, and the child version of himself, both of whom exhibit his ability to overcome dangerous situations. He hallucinates that his body is falling apart and he tries to literally pick up the pieces. Booth, Brennan, Cam & Hodgins review the evidence collected so far which includes the missing man who holds Sweets cell phone in his pocket. Booth finally deduces where Sweets is. **

Sweets knew quite some time had passed. Up until now he had been able to track time fairly well but yesterday's 'trip' had erased the ability to ration time. He knew he had been there since Friday and he heard Joe on the phone about one last delivery for Thursday, tomorrow. The last Sweets remembered was Tuesday night, if this was Wednesday night, not on did Sweets have no memory of Wednesday, but time was ticking for Joe had said _last _delivery. The other diminishing factor was that Sweets had been gone for a week without food, hardly any water, hadn't slept in a week, was unsure if he had developed any infections from the dingy surroundings and after the nearly 36 hour drug induced trip yesterday he was holding onto the last illusions of his own sanity.

_They aren't coming for you _Sweets told himself, fearing the end was near. _They tried, you know that, sometimes the good guys just don't finish first _Sweets found that hard to say. Though his life had been rife with turmoil and periods of loneliness he was above all an optimist, and deep down, it was a hope he would cling to till his last breath. He thought of himself, the boy, _you saved yourself_ he reminded himself. _You did it before, can you do it again._

He tried to cling to that thought as his heart rate continued to slow, not from drugs but form his own body shutting down from the pain it had endured. His bruised and broken ribs had kept him breathing properly, developing into pneumonia. The lack of nourishment had abated his ability to move well, and the exertion brought on from the drug induced trip yesterday stripped the last remaining energy from his body.

"One more for the road?" Joe asked coming into the room. "This seemed only appropriate." Joe said pulling out an object Sweets recalled from his youth.

* * *

><p>"I want everyone there." Booth said shouting into his cell. "Yeah well they shouldn't have screwed up two days ago. How do I know sir? That's why I'm the best you have, getting the other half of the best the bureau has. Now I'm going in if you want to send me some back up, that's up to you. I'll be there in four minutes."<p>

"You plan on driving pretty fast then." Brennan said jumping in the passenger seat. Booth knew he wasn't going to be able to tell her to wait here. Nor in reality did he want to – if he found something grim, he would need Brennan.

Booth's SUV sped from the Jeffersonian parking lot. Cam and Hodgins watched it go.

"If we leave now they can't see us follow right?" Cam asked.

Hodgins smiled and they both ran for Hodgins car.

* * *

><p>Sweets could feel the blood drip on his back as he lay as he had before, face down on the cot in the near dark, only the moonlight illuminating the room. Joe enjoyed the darkness, feeling it would make the psychologist more at ill ease.<p>

"It's no fun if you won't make a noise." Joe said getting tired from his task.

Sweets didn't say anything.

"You finally run out of smart ass remarks?" Joe asked.

A sound of a siren made Joe walk to the window and away from Sweets. The siren of a squad car zoomed past the building and down the road. _What were you worried about, no way they found you_ Joe smiled to himself and looked back to the bed. It was empty, spare for streaks of blood.

_What the…._Joe said stepping closer to the bed. He looked between the bed and the wall but nothing was there. He turned 180 degrees to turn on the light but Sweets stood in the doorway, his feet unsteady on cut feet, his sweatpants huge on his now emaciated waist, his tee shirt clinging to a bloody back. The moonlight illuminated his figure that with a stiff breeze would knock him down. The one thing that was there, strong as ever, were his dark eyes, unwavering, unyielding. It also helped that he held a gun in his hand.

"What you got there doc?" Joe asked, not very worried. He knew a quick rush and the doc would go down. Hell if he breathed heavily he could take him out with a breeze. Yet for all his physical detriments they seemed to unphase the psychologist's steely resolve. His youthfulness seemed lost, his resolve was hardened, he had one last task at hand.

"I can't think of a smart ass remark but this will do won't it?" Sweets said in reference to the gun.

"Sure kid, that's pretty good. But you're not gonna win this."

"I never liked bullies Joe." Sweets said in a low and dry voice.

"I bet you knew your fair share." Joe began to talk, he knew if he spoke long enough, most likely Sweets body would fail him and he would collapse.

"I bet you did too." Sweets responded back. "It's your type Joe, you were bullied, you became the bully."

"And you?"

"I was bullied and I became a man, one who stood up for others, helped them. You're a missed opportunity Joe."

The insult hurt, Joe couldn't deny that any more he could deny the waver the phycologist had on his own feet, sores that were now opening under his body's weight and bleeding. Joe decided to make his move.

Joe stepped forward to rush him, "You're nothing but a…." Joe stopped speaking after Sweets fired the gun. Sweets looked down in the darkness. In his haste he had picked up the first gun he saw, he wasn't sure then or now if it was the tranquilizer gun or the real gun.

* * *

><p>Booth raced thru the front door, Brennan on his heels. He went past the crime scene from earlier in the week and up the stairs, all the while his gut confirming his each step in the right direction. He reached an upper story, one that baffled him before and this time he saw the strange brick wall, this time with a door, also made of brick open to it.<p>

"Dammit!" Booth said looking at the trick door. His gut wrenched as he had been so close this week, a fact he knew Joe was proud of, his desire to make the agent suffer almost as much as the psychologist had been apparent in his threats.

Booth approached the open door with caution and pulled his gun. Brennan waited a few steps back. Her whole being wanted to race into the room, she had to know, no- she had to find her friend.

Seconds felt like forever as Booth inched forward, unsure of what possible trap lay ahead for them. Instead in the doorway he found a small kitchenette and past that a small room. Booth saw a figure on the floor and his heart stopped. He turned on the light to see the figure on the floor was Joe.

Brennan saw Booth's shoulders relax and quickly arrived at his side.

"Where is he?" Brennan asked scanning the small room to see a cot, drips of blood on it and Joe lifeless on the floor.

"Bones." Booth said swallowing hard. "Why is there blood on the bed?"

Brennan stepped closer to look at the distinct pattern. It was devoid in the center, as though someone were lying there, and the blood dripped around the torso making a sort of outline. Brennan looked to the floor and picked up a length of stripped wire and got the picture. She dropped it at the realization of the two factors while Booth's face turned mahogany at the same deduction.

Brennan looked at the light now entering the room and saw the footsteps leaving it, bloody footsteps. Brennan pointed to them, the pair turned to follow them leaving Joe to bleed on the floor.

* * *

><p>Booth and Brennan ran into Cam and Hodgins at the door's entrance catching each duo by surprise. The sound of approaching agents was in the distance.<p>

"Where? I mean is he…" Hodgins asked unsure his heart was still beating, Cam felt certain hers had stopped altogether.

"He's not up there." Booth said trying to think.

"What do you mean? He moved him?" Cam asked.

"No, Joe's up there." Booth said.

"I don't understand, did you kill him?" Cam asked cautiously.

"I didn't get the chance." Booth said solemnly. He still wasn't entirely sure what had happened. He was also upset at the missed opportunity to put the psycho in the wall a few times.

"There was a lot of blood, and footprints leading from the room." Brennan filled in.

"Footprints?" Hodgins asked, he imagined them in snow or something.

"In blood. But they faded at he steps."

"That must be Sweets." Cam said somewhat hopeful but deeply fearful. "Where would he go?"

"We're assuming he got out, what about the accomplice?" Hodgins asked.

They shivered at the thought. It was cold out and their worry instead of being resolved had deepened.

"We should start processing the room." Hodgins said trying to think of where to find clues.

"No, we need to find Sweets, if someone has him then we need to get there." Booth said prioritizing.

"I think Sweets walked out of here." Brennan said. They all looked at her as though she were crazy so she elaborated. "Joe is dead, it's doubtful the accomplice did it. Those footsteps left the room in a slow, short pace, there were smears as though the person were dragging his feet. If Sweets were being pushed out they would be far less casual."

It started to make sense. The quartet now wondered what was worse, Sweets wondering the streets or being with an accomplice.

"This isn't an area of town where you wonder around lost." Hodgins said looking around. The other agents arrived and Booth told two of them to secure the scene and the rest to start on a search pattern. Though the neighborhood may have been dicey they wanted to waste no time separating ways to cover more ground. Booth didn't like the idea of losing more of his people.

"Okay, you two and us two." Booth said. He motioned for the other agents to stay in pairs under the dark of the night.

"One last thing." Brennan said. "Sweets is hurt, bleeding and who knows what else, his instincts may catch on to want to burrow, hide."

"He's not an injured animal." Booth said irritated.

"Primal instincts will cause one to…" Brennan began but Booth interrupted and said he got what she meant. He didn't like the idea because it made Sweets that much harder to find.

* * *

><p>Late night turned to midnight as the sets of devoted searchers continued to look. Booth tried to keep his faith as he searched every box, feared the opening of every dumpster and yet found no Sweets. His adrenaline was running short while his fear was running high. His flashlight scanned quickly so Brennan could not see the quiver in his hand. She knew it was there, as she knew it would be in her own but said nothing as she continued to search.<p>

_Sweets would risk life and limb for Christine, for me or Booth, I can't give up on him now _she told her tired feet that pressed on. She didn't have the same gut feelings that Booth had and instead she relied on her knowledge and searched for places that she thought a person may go.

Miles passed and the path they took began to get fuzzy. Brennan began to wonder if they should regroup, Booth wanted to call out SWAT to help search. They felt their miles had been too far and turned back, hoping to see something on the way back, a new angle that might yield a result.

Booth stopped and knelt to the ground. Brennan stopped beside him to ask if he was hurt and was about to remark his shoes were not the proper choice for this. His red rimmed eyes answered her question directly.

"I know Booth. Me too." She said and they stood together.

Brennan looked up at an old overpass. It was a distance from the road that the flashlight could not reach. Brennan walked closer to it, a perfect place for one to retreat to, it was high up, protected from the elements and out of sight. She walked briskly and Booth had to pick up his pace to catch up.

"Bones, what are you doing?" He asked looking up at the crevice.

"It's perfect Booth." She said scanning in the darkness.

"No, it's…." Booth said not thinking anthropologically. Booth put his faith in his wife and shined his light in the spaces. A few homeless moved under the light and Booth kept the light moving until he could see a figure not dressed or covered in dark and dirty blankets like the others. He took off running towards it.

Quickly he and Brennan climbed the incline to the small space in the overpass. The coolness of the night had set in and the chill was severe. Booth shone his light again up at the figure wedged into the space, it jumped and Brennan pushed the light down.

"What are you doing Bones, it's Sweets right?"

"He's not himself Booth." She said cautiously as she approached. The darkness was a hinderance but the light was too abrasive. "Sweets?" She said softly stepping forward.

The pace was too slow for Booth who rushed forward wanting to confirm it was indeed the focus of their undeterred search for five long days.

"Come on Sweets let's get out of here." Sweets said reaching to grab his arm but he only scooted further away. As he did the blood from his back smeared the wall, illuminated by a passing car. Booth felt sick at the sight and Brennan put a hand to pause him.

"I'll call for an ambulance." Booth said feeling useless and stepping away.

"No, the lights and sounds will terrify him." Brennan said. "Just get someone to bring a car."

Booth called an agent then Cam. Brennan stepped forward offering a low and soothing voice.

"Sweets, do you remember me?" Brennan asked. She listened for any sound or response. He stopped shuffling she took that as a yes. "We've been looking for your Sweets. We were very worried."

The shuffling remained still.

"I would like for you to come with me Sweets. Would you come with me?" Brennan said holding out a hand. She waited patiently, a pace too slow for Booth who remained a few steps back. Brennan's hand was in the light and soon trembling fingers entered the moonlight to touch Brennan's. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She put her hand out for the other hand which soon appeared. She pulled the arms forward and slowly an outline appeared in the moonlight but one she hardly recognized, she thought she had mistaken the person as another homeless man. But those dark eyes, they were Sweets.

Booth looked up with the same insight, that this broken and beaten man was indeed their Sweets. Booth rushed forward but the motion of another person caused the wavering Sweets to back up and fall down back on his elbows.

Sweets looked up again at Booth for a second and then quickly away as though ashamed.

"Sweets." Booth said softly this time as Brennan had suggested but Sweets eyes refused to connect with his. Booth felt insulted that Sweet wouldn't acknowledge him but he put his own feelings aside as an SUV, his SUV, pulled up with Cam behind the wheel.

"Come on Sweets." Booth said softly not locking eyes with him either as he thought the young doctor wished.

Sweets looked up to Brennan for help and Booth failed to understand what was still going on. Hodgins and Cam ran excitedly when Brennan paused for them to stop where they were. They were confused, their friend was found! What was the problem they wondered.

Brennan placed herself in Sweets shoes and took a guess as to what he was feeling. She put out her hand which again Sweets took as she pulled him to again unsteady feet. Booth looked down at Sweets feet to see them issuing blood again as well as taking on a blue hue from the bare feet on the cold ground.

Sweets tried vainly but he was unable to hold himself on his feet and started to waver back again, a motion that caused Cam and Booth to jump forward again in a natural reaction of seeing their friend fall. Sweets waved his hand muttering "I can do it" as he fell back. Brennan didn't want the fragile man to take another spill and grabbed his arm but he twisted in pain.

"Let us help Sweets." Booth said taking the other arm.

Passing out now Sweets failed to argue as the quartet helped him down the incline's overpass towards the SUV. Hodgins was at the wheel but he realized he was going to have to abandon the seat with the look Booth gave him.

"Open the back." Brennan suggested where Sweets could lay flat unlike in the seats. Hodgins & Cam jumped in the rear passenger seats helping the tall figure in the vehicle as softly and gently as possible.

"Bones…" Booth said pausing her but stopped as it didn't seem important at the moment.

"Booth, he doesn't want you to see him as weak." Brennan said, guessing what she had when she put herself in Sweets shoes, she would not want to be seen as weak in Booth's eyes either.

"He's lived thru five days of hell and just shot the guy who did it to him." Booth said completely surprised by her observation. "Why the hell would he think that?"

"You can ask him that later." Brennan said stepping in the back of the SUV with Sweets. "I'm not a psychologist but I know a good one."

* * *

><p><em>Note: If I did not make it clear enough, I apologize, but please note that while Sweets is picking up his crumbling limbs, that occurs Tuesday night. The team finds more clues on Wednesday and heads to find him Wednesday night. Which means that <strong>all <strong>of Wednesday is unaccounted for in Sweets POV….for now…._


	13. Chapter 13

13.

**Recap 12: Sweets hasn't slept but he knows the time from Wednesday is unaccounted for. His health has rapidly deteriorated when Joe plans one last torture why adding to the scars on Sweets back. In a second when Joe is distracted Sweets moves and grabs a gun and after an exchange shoots Joe and leaves. Booth & Brennan arrive to find the secret room and a dead Joe on the floor but no Sweets. Cam & Hodgins arrive and the four go on a search of the area and later find Sweets hiding in an overpass. He is disoriented and in bad shape but alive. Sweets is not responsive to Booth who takes it personally.**

By the time they arrived at the hospital one thing in particular had changed. At the onset of the car ride Booth drove rapidly in the driver's seat, though in a hurry was also aware of the lives of those he cared most for in the vehicle with him and double checked each red light he ran. Cam called ahead to the hospital, Hodgins called Angela. In the back, Sweet lay uncomfortably, his six foot frame bent to fit but he kept a careful distance from Brennan. His eyes stayed fixed on hers though they bore a heavy look that pained Brennan to see them. She knew he longed for sleep but now it seemed as though he had come to terms that it would not come, or if it did, it would be far too permanent. At first she was able to only keep two fingers on his wrist to check vitals, he refused a closer distance at first as his eyes continued to watch her. Soon she was able to come close enough to lay a hand on his chest and monitor his breathing, then it changed when she was able to come close enough to touch his face and examine his head for any injuries.

With each move Brennan moved slowly and silently, aware of Sweets watching her. It bothered her that he reminded her of a faithful dog, beat and unsure of who to trust. He wanted to believe it was her but he held such a reserve that he was either hallucinating or under such a brainwashing that he would consider her a threat. Brennan heard none of the conversation by Cam or Hodgins, she hadn't glanced at Booth, he had a task and so did she. She was limited in the darkness and Sweets apprehension on how much observation she could do on him. By the time they reached the emergency entrance though instead of being at arm's length, Sweets allowed Brennan close enough as she wrapped an arm around his chest, his head on her leg as she unknowingly ran her fingers thru his hair. She didn't know about praying but she was sure hoping it turned out the way she wanted it to.

A gurney arrived as the car pulled to a stop. Hodgins was motioning to the back doors while Cam was identifying the lead doctor. Booth opened the doors which made Sweets jump as the lights and sounds flooded in. He began to back up in fear, searching for a shadow to envelop in. Brennan held him a little tighter and issued promises that it was going to be okay. Booth looked about nervously, unsure what to do and not liking it. It seemed to him that while Sweets was _here_, he wasn't all _there_.

The medical aids arrived at the doors and began to slide a board under Sweets body who panicked at the movement.

"Whoa!" Brennan called. "Let's just stop a moment."

"Dr. Brennan?" Cam asked appearing at the end of the vehicle.

She was trying to calm Sweets breathing which had greatly increased to a point she feared he would enter cardiac arrest.

"From what you told us on the phone Dr. Soroyan we need to administer help to this man now." The angry in charge Dr. Fitch announced. Cam glared at the tall blonde she had already taken an unliking to.

Cam looked to Brennan who eyes searched for the right answer but Cam took it from there.

"This man has been thru extreme conditions, he cannot be treated exactly like any other patient." Cam said. Though shorter than this woman without her tall heels Cam still had a demanding presence and a look that suggested Dr. Fitch not screw with her.

"Maybe we shouldn't have brought him here." Booth said looking at Sweets who painfully retracted in the car, away from the doors as far as he could.

"No, he needs medical assistance." Brennan said and turned to Sweets.

"Sweets, I'm right here okay, you know that right?" Brennan said softly, almost so only the two of them could hear. Sweets halfheartedly nodded as though he wasn't completely convinced. Brennan looked to Cam and Dr. Fitch at the doors, one concerned and the other annoyed. "Sweets, look, I promise you that either myself or Dr. Saroyan will be with you the entire time okay?" Sweets wanted to nod but he turned away as though ashamed again. "I know you're confused and there's nothing wrong with that okay? Sweets, I would feel the same way." This time he looked at her. "And I'd be just as glad if you made the same offer to me if I were in your shoes."

Sweets nodded this time with positivity and Brennan looked at Dr. Fitch who shrugged an agreement. Sweets tensed as a board was slid under his back but Brennan was prepared and held his hand in reassurance. Slowly he was removed from the auto but Brennan's glance remained locked with his the entire time and she never lost a step with him. As he was placed on the gurney Cam took his other hand, pushing Dr. Fitch slightly out of the way as they made their way to the doors.

Sweets flinched at the bright light and Brennan took her jacket off.

"Sweets I'm going to put this over you so the light doesn't bother you but we're still here okay, this is us." Brennan said gripping his hand. She put her coat over his face to shield the intense light he wasn't used to until they got inside.

Booth and Hodgins followed them as they moved gently but briskly to an exam area. The doctor stopped them at the door.

"You'll have to wait outside." Dr. Fitch informed them and quickly turned to leave.

Hodgins and Booth looked at each other and thru the windows of the doors.

"This is outside right?" Hodgins said sarcastically as they were merely on the other side of the doors.

Booth nodded. He wasn't moving an inch.

* * *

><p>Dr. Fitch hadn't been happy with the extra visitors in the room. It wasn't her idea but Cam nor Brennan cared very much about her opinion and a little more about the fragile state of their companion. Brennan and Cam worked out a system when the doctors and nurses needed more space one would put a hand on Sweets shoulder and release his hand while the other stayed. They moved back and forth and while the nurses and other assistants admired this method and smiled Dr. Fitch continued to have difficulties. She did not like to be spoken back to as Cam had outside.<p>

Sweets, while stable, was in no immediate medical concern and when word of the 'special situation' of a downed agent under extreme circumstances reached Dr. Lemus arrived. He found the two men standing outside the door as soon as he arrived. They quickly moved to allow personnel in and he recognized that the one tall and built man must be another government agent while the curly haired man puzzled him some. What he had no confusion over however was the concern they had.

"Gentleman…" He began.

"Doc we're not leaving." Booth said cutting him off.

"I'm not asking you to." Dr. Lemus said. "I would however like to invite you to this window here." He motioned around a corner to a window that looked into the room. "You can watch without interruption. I'm Dr. Lemus, I'm going to be helping your friend. But I'll visit more with you soon."

Dr. Lemus headed back into the room and instantly the pair liked him considerably more than the current primary care physician. They watched as Dr. Lemus approached Dr. Fitch whose demeanor changed towards this man who appeared her superior. He gained some information from her and then politely excused her. She tried to leave with her dignity but she failed to do so as she huffed out of the room.

"Dr. Soroyan." Dr. Lemus said turning to the man on the table but speaking to her. He noticed Sweets eyes screwed shut so he went across the room to turn down the lights and noticed the man was at greater ease, his heart rate began to level off. He never understood why younger doctors these days didn't take the time to think of things such as this. He turned a lamp close but away so had a little more light but it wasn't shining directly down on the young man on the table. "I don't know if you remember me Dr. Soroyan, but you were a brilliant student of mine."

Cam did a double take and looked the man over in more detail. "Oh, yes Dr. Lemus. I'm sorry I…."

"Of course, you were worried for your friend. Don't fret over me. I heard you were here raising some cain and came to assist. I don't usually get to work with patients as much as I once did but I think in this case you might allow me to replace Dr. Fitch."

"Gladly." Cam said nodding eagerly.

"Dr. Fitch seems efficient however she lacks a great amount of people skills." Brennan said and stopped in her tracks. She wondered if she was like Dr. Fitch but as Sweets reached for her hand she took it quickly and suddenly felt as though she were not similar to her at all.

"Tell me." Dr. Lemus said gently. "How did your friend come into this situation?"

Cam & Brennan looked down nervously at Sweets and Dr. Lemus nodded that maybe now wasn't the time to discuss it, it was far more sensitive than Dr. Lemus had considered.

"I shot him." Sweets said in a voice that sounded as though it had been ground over glass. His hand began to shake some.

"Sweets should get a medal for shooting that guy." Hodgins said from outside the room.

Booth didn't look at Hodgins as he knew better. "Not to Sweets." Booth said. Hodgins felt confused as his own anger still raged.

"Didn't you want to kill the guy?" Hodgins asked Booth.

"Yes. And if he had been alive when I got there, who knows what the hell I would have done. Yeah, I probably would have killed him, especially if I had seen Sweets…..the way I'm seeing him now." Booth took a second as he looked in at his emaciated friend with the dark circles under his eyes, gauze soaking up the blood from his back, temporary bandages warming his feet, a blanket warming his chest over incredible scars he knew were there – at those were just the physical.

"Yeah, I know I would killed him. And maybe the bosses wouldn't have asked. And I don't doubt either that Sweets killed him in self-defense." Booth said.

"So what's the issue?" Hodgins asked.

Booth turned to look at Hodgins, surprised he hadn't guessed already. "That's not Sweets Hodgins. Sweets, he…" Booth shook his head in confusion on his own part based on what had happened. "Sweets believes the best of the world, he can help anyone. Shooting someone is crossing a line to him and while he can justify it, he will feel remorse that in his mind he failed to save someone."

"Even if they aren't worth saving?" Hodgins asked with a huff.

"To Sweets we're all worth saving."

"You were not at fault." Brennan said trying to assure the young man but his heart rate began to increase too rapidly.

An IV had been inserted with some difficulty when Sweets arrived. Finally the aid had allowed Dr. Soroyan to do the task which was the only way they could get it to be done. Dr. Lemus turned to the aid to ask for a pain reliever but questioned something.

"Your friend's name is Sweets?" Lemus asked.

"Dr. Lance Sweets." Brennan said with a certain amount of pride. "He is very young but very smart."

Lemus smiled at her demeanor. He noticed she wore a ring but the young man did not, the man in the hall did and he deduced quickly how this small ground felt about the man on the table.

"Dr. Sweets." Lemus said addressing him. "I will need to draw a small amount of blood. He looked over Sweets arm without touching it and saw the many bruises and abrasions on it. "It will not be comfortable but I cannot give you anything for the pain until I know if anything is in your system. I suspect something is because I can see an injection on your neck as well as your arm. Please understand I am doing this only to help you."

Sweets bloodshot eyes painfully looked up at Cam begging her to not let him do it. She tried to hold a serious look but one of compassion as she spoke. "Sweets, it's important. I know you're confused and not completely understanding like you normally would right now but please let the doctor…." Sweets pulled his arm away from Cam when the aid arrived with the needle for the sample.

Brennan took Sweets face in her hand and looked him in the eye. She wanted to think of the words to say but none came to mind. She grabbed Sweets hand in hers as Cam held Sweets other arm down and the doctor aimed to draw a blood sample as quickly and as gently as possible. The act to Sweets however neared betrayal though Brennan wouldn't let him let her hand go, an act to show she would remain there. Cam repeated the action as the doctor handed off the sample. Sweets' body began to relax not so much from acceptance but from exhaustion and he began to drift off.

Booth looked away for a second to Hodgins who looked like a ghost. Booth looked back to the scene in the room and he realized what Hodgins must be thinking, it was all so unreal, how could it be happening.

The doctor continued to look Sweets over and pointed to various areas of Sweets body such as his chest and feet and back and issued orders. He was asking the women to step outside with him but they resisted until he motioned to the window and they agreed to go, able to still keep watch.

They joined Booth and Hodgins and the doctor saw his assumptions were right as Booth wrapped his arms around Brennan. Hodgins gave Cam a half hug and Lemus wondered when their own significant others might arrive.

"As you may have guessed I'm going to keep him under observation. I would say close observation but I think you'll know that as I don't have a feeling any of you will be leaving soon?" Lemus asked.

He didn't need to hear the answers to know them.

"Perhaps now you can tell me how the young man arrived at this state?"

They all looked to each other wondering how to explain it. Booth stepped forward, always the leader.

"A former patient of his, also an FBI agent was discharged under his suggestion, I backed that decision up. The agent was, unstable, sought revenge." Booth explained.

"I see." Lemus said in shock at such a situation. "Well, your friend has sustained many injuries as you may have seen. I suspect he has endured two such things that may not, on the surface, appear to be very serious but they are. One is sleep deprivation, I'm sure you didn't miss the hallowed and dark circles around his eyes. He is going to have some difficulty sleeping and if I do administer sleeping aids if the tox screen comes back clear, well, it's not going to be an easy fix. The other is malnutrition but based on some sores on his mouth I'm afraid that he may have been given some food that could have been poisoned or have been very old. We'll know more on the blood work as well. The other injuries are, well, he will recover from them. We are going to be taking several x-rays as I suspect some broken ribs and the breathing may be compromised with pneumonia. Again, they are all treatable but that's not why I'm the most concerned, strange as it may sound."

They all tensed at what the 'bad news' was.

"This _many _injuries, while on their own are bad enough, the sheer amount of them is, well, I think you know. However we have that but what we don't know is what mental damage has been done. Your friend is not far gone as he is receptive to you but I suspect when the tox screen comes back we will see that he was administered some narcotics. I warn you to be patient as we find out the effects of those drugs."

They had only been away seven minutes but Sweets jerked back awake, having been conditioned to only sleep a short while at best. His arms reached out but found no one there to take them. The medical aids looked at him with concern but did not make the connection. The simple pane of glass separated them only a few feet but the emotional distance was far greater.

Booth forgot Sweets reaction to him and only saw his friend's panic at waking up after such an ordeal in a room- unfamiliar with people poking at him. Booth was the first to get to the room and stand over Sweets side. Sweets eyes widened when he saw Booth but quickly turned his head away.

"Don't." Booth said but Sweets shook his head.

"I'm fine Booth, it's nothing…" He tried to sound brave to the agent he admired.

Booth wanted to yell at Sweets for thinking he should be ashamed to be in peril. "Sweets, I don't know if I could have made it okay? Just don't think that." Booth put his hand on Sweets shoulder. "Besides, I've been in the hospital, in the gown and all, more times than you anyway and I never thought you saw me as weak." Booth was trying to lighten the mood but he could see the psychologist was still uncomfortable. "Sweets I only care that you are here. The rest is crap Sweets."

Sweets finally looked back at Booth and while he said nothing more nor did he offer any great gestures, he didn't look away. Booth took that as a place to start.

"Now they're going to do some x-rays." Booth said and Sweets nodded as Booth stood. Sweets calmed himself to do this alone when he saw Booth remove his gun and badge and hand it to Cam who left with them. He sat back down. "But I'll be right here." Booth said sitting back down as the tech left for a shield for him against the machine.

"Me too." Brennan said sitting opposite. Sweets wanted to smile but again he felt like a lost puppy getting pity. "I'm glad to be here, and I'm glad you are too."

The tech returned with one shield then seeing Brennan left for a second one. Dr. Lemus nodded, it wasn't conventional, but neither was this patient's situation.

Lemus looked to Cam and Hodgins on the other side of the glass and gave them a smile and nod. It was laced however with a bit of worry he couldn't leave out of it, a worry they knew existed.

"I don't know Cam." Hodgins said looking in.

"I know, Sweets is good, and he gets the shrinky stuff and all, but can he, can anyone, really…." Cam said thinking to herself of what to even call it.

"I can't help but think we are missing something." Hodgins said as the x-ray machine began its work.

* * *

><p><em>So what do you think? Sweets isn't completely fixed and we still have a few mysteries left. What was really wrong with Joe? What about the accomplice and what happened to Wednesday? <em>

_More soon (I hope) and you might also see a little chapter pop up on another recent popular story suggestion. I know, why start another story when this one isn't done? Well for one I keep coming up with ideas i don't want to forget. Last night actually, while lying in bed, sick and unable to sleep I actually wrote the entire chapter in my head. It went pretty well too (I think). However I was too exhausted to get up and put it on paper. Well, the laptop. I'm so old school I think of it as paper. I actually think of writing as though I'm away on an old time typewriter complete with returning the cylinder. I guess I see myself as His Girl Friday typing away, ha ha. Anyway, point is (good Lord I hope there's a point) start to the new story and alternative 'start' hopefully coming soon. Some of it did actually make it on "paper" today...  
><em>


	14. Chapter 14

14.

_No owning of Bones going on here. Sorry for the delay on this update. The viral infection really kicked my ass in the last stages and my head was all crazy. Oh wait, that's a normal day. But then I had to get caught up after being gone so long. Going to try and get and update on both stories that are up right now. And because I have an insane desire to create more projects than I have time for I even have an idea on how to write 'Sweets' back into Bones. It's be a little different and it doesn't involve a 'dream.' But let's work on what we have so far…_

**Recap 13: Dr. Lemus replaces Dr. Fitch to help Sweets with a more gracious bedside manner. His injuries are reviewed and addressed though Lemus is concerned with not only the sheer number of injuries but the mental damage as well.**

Morning would come to dawn on the little hospital room at the end of the hall. Booth couldn't help but nod off after the long and sleepless days of worrying what had happened to his friend. Booth had sat watching the man for some time the night before, thinking of the Sweets he first met, smart as all hell sure, but just as annoying. He would have been happy to rid himself of the nerdy shrink but Sweets made his way in and had become indispensable. Now the boy he had first met who he would hardly trust with a pack of firecrackers had turned into man he would gladly trust, gun in hand to have his back. It had been quite a trip in these years, lost in those thoughts in those late night hours, watching Sweets stay asleep, where he was safe, Booth soon drifted off as well.

Brennan came upon the sight the next morning and wondered if she should wake Booth but the ever knowing agent peeked an eye open to see her there.

"Good morning." She greeted him. She looked over at Sweets, very interested to know how he did the night before. "How did he do?"

"Good." Booth said clearing his throat and sitting up in his chair. "He jumped a few times but, he calmed back down."

Brennan felt a smile in the corner of her mouth as she imagined her bulky and stern husband probably jumping to pat Sweets shoulder until he relaxed and fell back into slumber. She wasn't going to ask, knowing he would never admit it.

"The doctor administered some sleeping aids then after I left?" Brennan asked coming closer to examine Sweets for herself. "He mentioned he was going to since the tox screen came back."

"Yeah, but he said there was something in his system so he started him out on a small dose." Booth explained.

"You should go home Booth." Brennan suggested. "Hodgins and Cam were right to go home last night and get some sleep, you should as well."

Booth looked at the figure on the bed, though Sweets was back with them he was about 25% smaller than he was a week before.

"I mean it Booth, you know you're going to get called in to the scene to get questioned. You should get a little sleep and change, you might feel better. Besides, I plan to stay here for a bit." Brennan said pulling Booth out of the chair so she could take it.

Booth knew he wasn't going to be able to argue and a shower sounded nice. He kissed his wife and reminded her to call if anything came up. He knew she would, but it felt better to say it.

Brennan missed the days when medical charts were on the beds so she could flip thru them at will. Now everything was electronic so she planned to hound the doctor with questions as soon as he came in. She mentally prepared her barrage of questions and placed them in the correct order as the patient began to stir.

"…no…no….." Sweets was murmuring in a tone barely audible. Brennan feared a nightmare and gently woke the man by shaking his arm. She touched it gently as the bruises were now dark in color as Sweets woke lunged upward but seemed nervous when he saw Brennan but her soft touch reminded him it was okay and slowly he began to breathe more calmly.

"Dr. Brennan." Sweets said lying back but he arched up as he did so.

Brennan wanted to tell Sweets not to be so formal but she was aware something was wrong.

"Sweets, what is it?"

"It's nothing." He said trying to ignore the pain he was feeling and ease on the bed but it wasn't working. He tried to turn on his side and Brennan realized he was avoiding his back. She went to the opposite side of the bed where his back was exposed to see what was bothering him that she could fix.

"No, Dr. Brennan it's fine!" Sweets said trying to ease back on his back before she got there but she was too quick and his sore body too slow. She saw the layer of bandages, some with blood soaking thru, a reminder that he had new scars over the old. Brennan grew angry at the sight, she had known they were there but seeing them added a new sting.

She quickly regained her composure and pulled the blanket up around Sweets and grabbed an extra pillow to put behind him so he could have some support but stay on his side.

"Is that better Sweets?" She asked.

"Yes, thank you." Sweets said but his expression still read anguish. She recalled his broken ribs, the ones he was now lying directly on.

"Oh no Sweets, we should move you. You can't be lying on those." She said discerning what would work best.

"Dr. Brennan, I don't think there is _going _to be a good position on which to lie." Sweets said defeated.

"We'll figure this out." She promised and buzzed for the doctor.

He soon arrived and administered some more pain killers and asked the nurse to redress the cuts on Sweets back. Sweets waited patiently as the doctor and nurses looked over his feet, back, chest, took vitals and poked for what felt like forever. This time Brennan stepped back to let them do their work as she thought Sweets was doing fine. Brennan's phone rang and seeing as the medical personnel were busy she stepped outside to take it.

"Hey Bones." Booth said in a monotone voice.

"Booth, I thought you were getting some rest."

"I was, well I got a shower in when I got called down here, to the scene."

"Is there something more there?" Brennan asked, her heart rate increasing.

"We've got Chamberlain's bag of tricks. Hodgins and Cam are piecing them together. Angela, she couldn't uh…"

"That's understandable." Brennan agreed.

"Yeah I think she might come there instead in a while." Booth said.

"Is there something more?" Brennan asked feeling as though Booth was stalling.

Booth cleared his throat. "It's a grim picture Bones." He cleared his throat again and Brennan knew how much this was affecting her husband. "I actually called because we found the syringe, Hodgins is going to take it back and test it."

"Good, I don't believe Dr. Lemus had the exact composition since it was mostly gone from Sweets blood stream."

"Yeah, I hope to finally help." Booth said in a defeated tone.

"You did, we all did, we've got him back." Brennan reminded him.

"Yeah, but is he?" Booth wondered aloud.

Brennan looked over her shoulder to see the doctors were down the hall, having completed their tasks.

"Booth, I should get back to Sweets, I don't want to leave him."

"Of course. I'll call you later." Booth promised as they hung up.

Brennan walked back into the room to see Sweets lying on his opposite side now facing the window. Brennan hoped the new position wasn't putting the same pressure on his chest or ribs or back. She could see how Sweets was going to have a hard time finding comfort in even relaxing when 360 degrees of the center of his body ached. She slowly walked in and sat down but the sound of the weight against the leather seat made Sweets jump and Brennan jump in return. She raced around to face the young man whose eyes were wide open and encompassed in red.

"Sweets it's okay, it's just me." Brennan said.

Sweets nodded his head. He felt exhausted not only at how he felt but at how he was automatically reacting to everything.

"I'm sorry Dr. Brennan, I can't seem to relax."

Brennan ached to see Sweets this way. She wanted to smile at his goofy grins, argue with his logic and discuss intellectual topics that Booth had no interest in. She wanted _her _Sweets back and she now fully understood Booth's desire to care for his people.

"Sweets, don't apologize." Brennan said trying to think like a psychologist. _Just take away all reasoning and logic, you can think just like a therapist. _ "You are not fine Dr. Sweets. And I can see you are in quite a terrible state."

Sweets nodded at her honestly but it wasn't exactly helping. "Thank you Dr. Brennan." Sweets said in a thin line between appreciating the accuracy but bordered on sarcasm.

Brennan shook her head. "Sorry I was trying to think like a therapist."

Sweets managed a laugh. "Is that what I sound like?"

Brennan considered it. "No, no you don't, so that is not correct." She pondered how Sweets would think. If a friend besides Sweets was this hurt she would turn to him for advice or perspective. She wondered what he would say to her.

"You would say a person, such as yourself will get thru this. And I believe you will Sweets. You are very strong, much more than you would give yourself credit for. And you would say that despite how bad it seems, there is nothing someone can't overcome, especially, with the help of friends, like me."

Sweets eyes finally met Brennan's. "Are you sure that sounds like me?"

"Well you might add a few more words like 'totally' or 'awesome'." Brennan said in all seriousness but Sweets smiled again. "You would still say it better though."

"No, that wasn't bad, thank you Dr. Brennan."

Brennan smiled. "Want to call me Bones?" She offered.

Sweets shook his head, "not if Booth is around."

Brennan smiled and spoke before she knew what she was saying she had slipped into the easy conversation with Sweets. "No, he's at the crime scene."

She adjusted her pants and looked to Sweets who smile was gone and a slight tremor was in his hand.

"Sweets?" Brennan asked. Sweets didn't respond and his tremor increased. "Sweets?" She asked again, now more alarmed.

He shook his head more seriously now and Brennan became panicked and pushed the help button. She was about to leave the room for help but she couldn't leave Sweets alone and instead took his shaking hand in hers and tried to get him to look at her.

"Sweets what's wrong?" She asked desperately but he wasn't looking directly at her, his eyes were lost to someplace else. She was angry at the moment that she didn't understand psychology the way Sweets did. She tried to think of what changed, has his blood pressure dropped? She questioned the various medical options but she felt it was something else. She recalled their conversation…_crime scene._

"Sweets, I'm here, this is Dr. Brenn...Bones. I'm here okay, we're not there. It can't be there because I wouldn't be there right?" Brennan spoke and wondered where the doctors were. Soon Dr. Lemus appeared and seemed bothered by his option.

"I think we should sedate him." He said to the nurse.

"Is that a good idea?" Brennan asked.

"Physically yes, but I'm more worried about the mental affect."

_Dammit I'm not good at this. What would Sweets do? Should I slap him, no that's no good we're not in an old movie. _Brennan put her hand on Sweets cheek and put her other hand in his. "Sweets." She said almost sternly. "Please calm down, we're not where you think you are, I promise, you won't go there again."

It took a moment for the sedative to arrive and by that time Sweets had calmed down and his eyes slowly focused on Dr. Brennan. He let out a sigh and relaxed. Dr. Lemus asked the nurse to take away the sedative.

"Feeling better Dr. Sweets?" Lemus asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Sweets said, he truly wasn't sure.

Brennan's phone rang and she found it in order to silence it but saw Hodgins was calling and she recalled the test he was running on the syringe. She stepped to the side quickly while the doctor talked to Sweets.

"You know Dr. Sweets, you are really doing quite well." Lemus said.

"Really?" Sweets asked. "Because I feel half insane."

"Is that your clinical synopsis of your condition?" The doctor teased him.

"I've got some fancier words." Sweets said rubbing his sore throat.

"Well if you're up to it we're going to bring you in some breakfast." The doctor hesitated. "In the test we ran we found that you had been fed some moldy food. Do you recall this?"

Sweets nodded slowly as he could nearly feel Joe holding his down and shoving the moldy bread in his mouth.

"I've noticed Dr. Sweets that the memories of things you recall do not bother you nearly as much as the things you don't." Lemus said and smiled. "I took a few semesters on psychology myself."

"I'm going to have to sort thru it all doc, but yeah, I wish I knew what happened..." Sweets voice trailed off and then he came back. "I don't like what happened, but if I know what it was, I can deal with it."

The nurse arrived with a tray of food and Lemus pushed the tray closer to Sweets. "Now I promise you, this is all good food, there's _nothing _wrong with it." Lemus said knowing of the poisoned food as well.

"Just take your time." He said busying himself with checking the IV bad, the only fluids Sweets had so far. He wanted to see how the young man took to eating. Sweets stayed on his side for the most part though the meds were slowing the pain to his back to a dulled ache now.

Sweets eyed the scrambled eggs, the bacon, the potatoes, and the toast. It seems like _so much _food to his now greatly reduced appetite. The doctor was more than concerned with the man's weight and hoped he would embrace at least ten percent of the food. Sweets reached for the toast, bold considering his last brush with a yeast product but that was Sweets, up for the psychological challenge. A couple of bites and it was aside though it didn't go down well on the dry throat. Sweets reached for the orange juice in the small glass but it proved too heavy and he almost dropped it.

"The condensation on these cups is terrible." The doctor lied and helped Sweets drink it. He would have preferred he didn't do it so fast but he helped the young man just the same.

"There, that was good wasn't it?" The doctor asked and Sweets smiled.

"Yeah, thanks for the help."

"It's good to ask for help right, it gets us what we want in the end." Lemus reminded him and he was glad to see the young man getting along fairly well. He wondered in his mind what had prepared him for such a solid recovery as this. Dr. Lemus would have guessed him to have been a prisoner of war or something at the way he seemed versed in overcoming such an experience. He knew he had never served and he recalled the old scars he had seen on the man's back. _Maybe not too young for some things _his mind soured at the possibly twenty year old scars. _Some parents…_

His mind was pulled away as Sweets fork concentrating on stabbing some eggs and after two attempts found the way to their intended target. He smiled and felt encouraged. Brennan got off the phone and turned to Dr. Lemus.

"Dr. Lemus, what can you tell me about Codamatoxodin?"

As she said it Sweets lost his breakfast back on the plate. The doctor quickly pulled the tray away but Sweets was already in full panic mode as she scrambled away from them on the bed, his eyes had that faraway look in his eyes again that suggested he wasn't really there.

"Dr. Sweets, please stop moving." Dr. Lemus pleaded as the man scrambled away from the figures that not were blurry to him. Sweets continued to struggle to get away from them, each movement pulling open stitches and cuts.

Brennan tried to talk to Sweets like she had before trying to calm him but it wasn't working like it was before. Brennan now deeply wanted to know what Codamatoxodin was because apparently Sweets knew what it was, and it wasn't good.

* * *

><p>Booth had finished talking to Brennan, wondered with fearful curiousity what Hodgins would find when he ran the contents of the vile, and watched as the last of the evidence was collected and bagged. <em>Evidence, <em>Booth said to himself as the word stuck in his throat. It didn't feel like 'work' or 'evidence' when it was your friend. Boxes of salt, a copper wire, a package of moldy bread, syringes, knives with blood, and a dead rat. Booth rubbed his head, _what the hell went on here – and moreso, do I want to know, can I even handle knowing? And if knowing is this hard, how hard is it to endure?_

Booth walked outside to get some fresh air as the techs finished collected their, stuff. Booth stepped outside as a car went by, looking in shock at the building. He saw Booth and quickly accelerated. The hairs on the back of Booth's neck stood up, something was up, that man was familiar. His window had been down and a waft of nicotine filled Booth's nose. _The informant. _Booth jumped in his SUV and took off, he was not going to lose this SOB.

* * *

><p><em>Review if you like with thoughts, concerns, questions, queries, donations, suggestions. I'll accept anything but flaming bags of poop.<em>


	15. Chapter 15

15.

**Recap 14: Sweets is recovering – teetering between fits of unsureness and consumed with residual pain and being almost too familiar with the recovery from such a traumatic event. Brennan helps him thru a couple of rough patches but ultimately Sweets is unable to recover from the mention of the drug he was issued on Wednesday. Booth meantime is at the crime scene and sees the man drive by whom he recognized as the accomplice.**

Booth's phone was ringing while he was driving in hot pursuit. He recognized the personalized ring tone, 'Hot Blooded' as Brennan calling but he pressed on vowing not to lose his suspect. Booth knew if he lost the guy, he might lose the only clue to putting the whole puzzle together. See, something had bothered Booth since he found out Chamberlain was the one who took Sweets. Some might have seen it as obvious since Sweets' recommendation led to Chamberlain getting canned, but Booth really hadn't because while Chamberlain was a dick, he didn't come across as completely deranged. Booth wanted answers and with Chamberlain dead, he had one possible eyewitness to the whole thing – and he was on his tail right now.

The car Booth was tailing approached a light that wasn't changing green as he barreled towards it but with cars blocking both lanes he couldn't get around them either. The car swerved in both directions but the man had nowhere to go – Booth could feel the desire to go in for the kill as he closed in on the car. The man knew he was trapped and turned to flee from his vehicle but as he opened his door and put a leg down to get out -the door was slammed back in his face, his leg crushed in the door. The man howled in pain as he looked up and saw Booth on the other side of the door, teeming with hate.

* * *

><p>Brennan tapped her foot nervously in time with her fingers as the drummed just as fast on her knee. She had tried calling Booth several times but with no answers she abandoned that outlet and called Angela. It took little work on Mrs. Montenagro's part to detect the anxious fear in Brennan's voice as she spoke, informing her of Sweets currently condition and set back.<p>

Now Brennan awaited the arrival of her friend, having little more to do than gaze upon the patient lying on the bed. Sweets was facing her but his eyes were lifeless as they stared dead ahead. Brennan wasn't sure if Sweets could even see her though his eyes were wide open, causing her foot to want to tap a little more staccato. She got up and walked to the bed and picked up a tissue and wiped a small line of drool coming from Sweets lips, a small gesture of something she could do to help. She pulled her chair close as the wood shouted at being dragged against the cold linoleum and put her hand over Sweets who still remained motionless. Though she had tried vainly, she nor the doctor were able to calm Sweets down and a sedative was issued. The result was indeed a calm Sweets, but in a now worrisome way.

Brennan swiped at her eye as she heard the rustle of material against skin coming in the room. She knew Angela was there, a mixture or relief and apprehension still brewing.

"Geez Bren, what happened?" Angela asked automatically at the poor soul on the bed. Brennan had told her some details but the actual sight of Sweets for the first time had taken her aback. Angela wrapped her arms around the surprisingly fragile female friend who was without words.

"Well get thru this – somehow." Angela promised but Brennan didn't seem how she could issue such a statement with so many unknowns, though it sounded comforting all the same.

Dr. Lemus saw the friend enter the room and entered now that the pleasantries between the two women had been exchanged. Lemus introduced himself to Angela first and then began what he came in for.

"Are we waiting for you partner?" Lemus asked Brennan.

"I'm unable to get a hold of him now." Brennan said nervous and curious as to where Booth was.

"Well let me share with you what I know." Lemus said motioning them towards the seats. "Codamatoxodin is a heavy narcotic that is not seen often, not even for illegal drug trade - this stuff is hard to find. I know you told me the man who took your friend was an agent and I'm guessing that is how he was able to get ahold of some."

"What are the risks?" Angela asked.

"Well the drug induces very intense hallucinogens, most commonly users find their limbs coming off. One reason few use it is that some have caused great harm to themselves by actually trying to remove or replace what they think are missing limbs. Based on the abrasions on your friend's wrists and legs I believe he may have been restrained during the worst part of the high, actually allowing him to survive it." Lemus explained.

"So, if Sweets was injected with it, he would have thought his body was falling apart, Chamberlain restrained him and then….?" Brennan asked.

"Then begins stage two of the drug, a deep mental confusion." Lemus explained and sighed. "Many years ago this drug was used in prisoner of war camps to not only torture the prisoners but they believed in the second stage where the mind was captivated, they could derive knowledge, such as enemy locations and knowledge as such. However, it was eventually abandoned as whatever the prisoner said was not always correct, the mind becomes a stew where the reality and imagination mix."

"So Sweets went from falling apart physically to falling apart mentally?" Angela asked.

Lemus nodded. "Yes, but he will have no memory of that day, the drug's after effects are much like a date rape drug, the memory fogs as to what happened during that day, though the user is left with a strong sense of confusion."

"So Sweets came out of the fog, so to speak, didn't know what he'd said or done. Then he shot Joe?" Angela asked.

"I'm not clear on the series of events that followed, but it is very likely that he was of sound mind when he did react, it would be like that one day never happened." Lemus explained.

"So how do we help Dr. Sweets? I don't understand what is entirely wrong with him." Brennan admitted.

"Your friend is still reacting to something that occurred in that day under that cloud of confusion. In the days of the prisoner of war camps, they would often put in place a trigger." Lemus explained.

"What do you mean? What kind of trigger?" Angela asked.

"That's part of the unknown." Lemus said sadly. "But most likely it is what is preventing his recovery. If we can discover that trigger and overcome it, then it is most likely that his recovery will progress much faster without incidents such as these."

Angela & Brennan looked at Sweets still lying motionless on the bed and began to wonder what was planted with Sweets to cause him to react as such. The only other person they could ask, well, Sweets shot him.

* * *

><p>"I said I want a lawyer." The man repeated again as Booth sat unwavering across from him in the interrogation room.<p>

"He's on his way." Booth said flipping thru the man's file. "Now tell me, Owen McCall, how did you get to know Joe Chamberlain?"

"I'm sure I can tell you when my lawyer gets here." Owen repeated.

"Yeah see the funny thing is Owen your lawyer can get here and he can tell you when to answer and what to say. But in the end you're going to trial, and on trial for helping a psychotic ex-federal agent kidnap and torture another federal agent whose also assigned to help people. Now, it's also not going to help said jury when they see said tortured agent on the stand who looks like the nicest guy anyone's ever met. Conviction Owen, I'm talking the not so nice parts of prison is where you are going."

"Well I suppose it doesn't matter much anyway." Owen said coughing. "I doubt I'll make it to trial." Owen gave Booth a big smile and pointed to his lungs, leaving Booth to deduce that he had the last stages of lung cancer. "Besides Joe told me all about that _friend _of yours - he got what was coming to him."

Booth restrained himself from planting the old man in the wall. Owen's leg may have been broken but hey, Booth had to keep him from running. It was going to be a lot of paperwork but Booth figured it was worth it - having hit someone made him feel much better. Booth's attention was drawn away from Owen with a knock on the door. Booth went out to find a group of agents waiting.

"What's going on?" Booth asked.

"That's the guy who took Sweets?" One of the more burly agents asked. Booth could tell the expressions on their faces, they were angry at the guy who took one of their fellow agents, and on in particular that would be descried by all as a bit goofy and nosey but salt of the earth - the kind of guy you didn't hurt because all he did was help.

"It's okay guys, I'm on it." Booth promised them.

"Well then this might help." One of the agents said handing Booth a file.

"What's this?" Booth asked opening the file but hoping for a shorter version. He was tired and more than that, worried about Brennan's call he had yet to return. Booth knew if it were bad news he wasn't going to be able concentrate on McCall. If it were really bad news, he would have known by now. He was gambling and hoping it could wait - plus the ultimate truth was, he couldn't see Sweets right now. See the skinny and sickly young man ripped his heart out last time, that wasn't the Sweets he knew, not the Sweets he wanted to know. Booth felt he was where he needed to be, figuring out how to help him best.

"It took some digging." The agent said who handed Booth the folder. "But there's more to Owen McCall that just a friend of Joe Chamberlain. When Chamberlain was discharged he and McCall were in the same recovery hospital. They've been close ever since."

Booth began to think aloud. "McCall sided with Chamberlain on whatever he said about Sweets - which was all crap. He helped Chamberlain, without asking questions, knowing he was going to die…." Booth's mind was turning as he went back into the interrogation room.

"So you knew Joe from the Army." Booth said to Owen as he entered the room.

"Yeah, I met him when he was being discharged stateside. Joe was still recovering from the prison camp experiences. I had yellow fever. We were sharing a room and got to know each other." Owen's shoulders shrugged, his lawyer wasn't there yet but he figured Booth had gathered that much information anyway.

"Yeah so what turned him into a nutcase?" Booth asked less sympathy having seen what the man had done to Sweets.

"Joe left the service and he wanted to protect people, he studied hard and became an agent. Got married, had a kids, started living the whole American dream and putting it all behind him – and he did for a while."

"Yeah then what happened?"

"You should ask your psychologist friend, he figured it out." Owen said.

While Booth fully intended to he also knew he didn't want to press Sweets too hard on anything right now. For now Sweets still didn't seem comfortable around Booth - no matter what he seemed to do, another good reason for Booth to keep his distance.

"Why did you help him Owen?" Booth asked. "What did he tell you about Dr. Sweets that made you think he deserved what he did?"

"Lawyer's not here yet." Owen repeated.

"What do you care? Like you said you'll be dead before trial. Don't you want to justify what your comrade did?"

Owen grinned. "That prick could have let Joe finish out his career. He had no idea what Joe had been thru."

"So Joe decided to show him what he had been thru personally, was that it?" Booth asked, grasping at his own temper which was flaring.

"He didn't get it." Owen said angry. "You don't leave till the job's done. That kid was a nosey little punk who wanted to ruin Joe."

"That **guy **made sure that Chamberlain didn't kill anyone else. That's what's called responsibility. And you can rot in hell for it." Booth got up to leave. "You know Owen." Booth said coming close to the man's ear. "The life you lead is indicative of the man you are. A much better man told me that once, I'll give you a hint, that man isn't you."

* * *

><p>"When is the sedative supposed to wear off?" Angela asked while moving Sweets pillow. Brennan walked closer to the bed to help Angela with whatever she was planning on doing. She followed Angela's lead as she gently laid Sweets back against the pillow mound and Brennan observed that while still out of it, he did look to be more relaxed.<p>

"The doctor said it would be soon, it was a light dose, enough to calm him down." Brennan said. "He had opened a few stitches so they had to repair them."

Angela adjusted Sweets hair, wiped away another line of drool and tried to move his arms to make him look more casual and less unresponsive. Angela put Sweets hand on his chest but it looked wrong so she moved it to his side then moved it to his stomach. She knew it was like posing a doll but she couldn't sit still - she wanted to move and to do something. As she moved Sweets arm again she noticed the dark red circles around his wrists, the bruises.

Brennan noticed and began to explain, "they are evidence of…"

"I know Sweetie." Angela responded quickly. "It's just seeing them…." She said looking at the scars then up at Sweets "…on him."

"I'd like to believe that Sweets is very capable of overcoming great obstacles." Brennan hoped aloud.

"Oh I don't think Brennan, I'm pretty sure we know." Angela offered her a smile. "We owe Sweets a lot of help, help he's given us, it's time we give it back."

The doctor came in and took some vitals. As Dr. Lemus' hand touched Sweets neck he jumped. The doctor turned to the women in the room, "it looks like he's coming out of it." When he was done taking vitals he turned to give them some time to talk.

"Hey Bones. Sorry I'm late." Booth apologized when he came in. "I got your message about the codamo….stuff."

Sweets eyes widened when he saw Booth and adjusted as though he wanted to move away. Booth didn't press the issue and merely turned back to Brennan for more updates.

"Dr. Lemus suggested we try to work with Sweets to discover the trigger that is causing Sweets distress." Brennan explained.

"So like stressful life events?" Booth asked.

"Yeah, so like what did Sweets have to stress about as a kid right?" Angela joked. "Besides being super smart."

Brennan & Booth exchanged looks knowing how closely Sweets tended to guard his abusive childhood.

"What?" Angela asked in the deafening silence.

Booth left it to Brennan to explain and the female duo walked a distance from Sweets hearing to talk. Booth eyed Sweets trying to clutch a cup of water and walked closer to help. Upon arrival and Booth coming into focus Sweets jumped at his presence.

"Here Sweets, let me help." Booth said handing the cup over. Sweets looked at it and back at Booth several times, each glance his eyes growing darker.

"Are you kidding me!?" Angela shouted causing Booth to look over at her with a look that read 'keep it down!'

Before Angela could react Booth saw the look Brennan was giving him as her eyes widened. Booth looked back at Sweets who was pointing Booth's gun at him. Booth sat down the water cup and began to step back as Sweets pointed the gun at him.

"Sweets, what uh, what are you doing?" Booth asked as Sweets dark, tired and hollowed eyes narrowed on him. Angela and Brennan began to slowly approach as well and Angela slipped out the door to get the doctor. Sweets didn't pick up on any action going on the room besides the moves Booth made. Brennan observed he seemed to be the sole focus of Sweets attention, a look that was almost surreal and in a trance.

"Sweets, why are you looking at Booth that way?" Brennan asked but Sweets did not acknowledge her presence.

"Sweets, how about you put down my gun and we talk?" Booth suggested. Sweets looked tired, almost as though the gun were too heavy for his hand but he had a determination in his eyes he didn't understand.

"How did he get your gun Booth?" Brennan asked.

"Not the time now Bones." He whispered to her. In the back of his mind he mused that Sweets could be a great pick pocket with the ease in which he removed the gun from the holster, a curiosity and skill he would inquire when Sweets wasn't pointing a gun at him. The utmost truth was however that Booth would have never felt that guarded around Sweets, certainly not to the point he figured he would ever be on the receiving end of the barrel.

"I don't know what we should do." Brennan admitted as the doctor and Angela entered the room. The doctor looked slightly green at the situation as well.

Booth's eyes perked up. "I think I know." Booth took a step towards Sweets who followed by tightening his grip on the trigger. "I'm the trigger." Booth said.

Brennan nodded. "Chamberlain wanted to get back at both of you, by setting you as Sweets trigger, Sweets kills you and then forever lives out the guilt."

"But Sweets isn't going to do that, are you Sweets?" Booth asked taking another small step towards him.

"That's why Sweets kept reacting so strangely to Booth." Angela pieced together as the two men locked eyes.

"Booth you should stop, Sweets doesn't know the different between the reality and what Joe made him think that day." Brennan warned. She knew in his right mind Sweets would never kill her husband but she knew right now, he wasn't in his right mind.

Booth heard Brennan but continued to lock eyes with Sweets. "I know Bones, but I know Sweets, he's not going to kill me."

All eyes went to Sweets whose cold and hard glare did not suggest what Booth had proposed.

"And that's because I trust Sweets, and Sweets trusts me." Booth said slowly. "Sweets is my friend."

As Booth said it Sweets blinked, the weight of the gun seemed suddenly heavy and Sweets hand lowered as is sat in his lap now. Everyone let out a sigh as the tension left the room. Booth's eyes had yet to leave Sweets who still held the gun, just not pointing at Booth. Booth knew Sweets would still be jumpy so he didn't want to take the guy away too fast, he also noticed Sweets seemed to be considering something as he picked up the gun again but it was pointed away from the people in the room, only at himself.

The others were busy and didn't see Booth put his hand out slowly grasping the gun in Sweets hand. Sweets looked up at Booth who very subtly shook his head suggesting that Sweets not do what he was thinking. Sweets let go and rubbed his head in confusion. Booth secured the gun and put a hand on Sweets shoulder suggesting it was going to be okay. Exhausted Sweets soon fell asleep though they were glad this time it wasn't drug induced.

* * *

><p>A couple of days later the visits because more casual as Sweets recovery began to be more physically apparent. The trigger having been removed Sweets was now at ease as he put the pieces together of what happened during the weeks' time. While at first reluctant he managed to work thru the evidence with the squints and piece together a complete picture. As they put it together they only nodded as each evidence was placed with each injury and Sweets began to relax more as he disassociated with it. Inside it bothered them how much their friend had been thru but they took it one day, one piece of evidence at a time.<p>

Booth had Owen McCall arrested with plenty of evidence on him to keep him behind bars for a long time. Still, it bothered Booth about Chamberlain and as Booth showed up to collect Sweets and take him home from the hospital he couldn't hide it from his expressions.

"What's up Booth?" Sweets asked, casually dressed and sitting in a wheel chair ready to leave. While he was well enough to be discharged his feet bad not recovered to the point where he could walk great distances as of yet.

"Nothing. No big deal." Booth tried to shake off though he both admired and was irritated that Sweets could always tell when something was on Booth's mind. Sweets eyed Booth who knew the psychologist wasn't going to let it go.

"Okay, so what was the deal with Chamberlain? Why did he lose it?" Booth asked and Sweets nodded in understand at what was on the special agent's mind. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. I just don't get why the guy dealt with that stuff for so long, his prison camp stuff and then one day…why? Owen McCall said you had figured it out."

Sweets nodded. "Joe Chamberlain had an inoperable brain tumor." Sweets explained. "His behaviors became more erratic as the increased inflammation occurred. But the substantial break was when one of the soldiers who had tortured Joe in the camp came to D.C. to ask for his forgiveness."

"You didn't mention that before now?" Booth asked sarcastically.

"When Joe was a patient he was protected under patient confidentiality, lifted only since his passing." Sweets explained.

"You know you did what you had to do there, you know that right?" Booth asked of Sweets shooting Joe.

"It shouldn't have to come down to that." Sweets said bothered by a life he took, though he knew it was to save his own. "But I know he put me in a position to make that choice." Sweets eyebrow furrowed and Booth's curiosity increased. "I almost wonder if Joe wanted me to shoot him - spare him the drawn out process brought on by the tumor. It would fit Joe's profile, blaming everyone else and putting those decisions on others."

"The bastard tried to get you to shot me."

Sweets nodded at the graveness the situation took on and smiled, "I guess Joe never really understood friendship."

Booth nodded and walked to talk the handles of the wheelchair before Sweets could push himself.

"So what you're saying is if some guy pisses me off someday, you'll be like McCall and help me take the guy out?" Booth joked.

Sweets shook his head at the poor joke. "No Booth, but I'll be the one who will make sure it doesn't come to that."

"Ah, now that's a friend." Booth said pushing Sweets down the hall.


	16. Chapter 16

_If you haven't been following along completely (shame on you! :) ) here are some other sweet stories by….me! So out of curiosity, if you've read them all, what's your favorite?_

The Mist in the Box (my first one!) - Sweets is inflicted by a mysterious poison

The Title in the Story - Sweets takes Brennan's place when a killer makes Booth choose, he ends up being cut up some.

The Sequel to the Story - Sequel to the above when Sweets is still haunted by the feeling that Booth would not have chosen him. We meet Emma, Sweets new secretary with a complicated past and a serial killer from the grave - Pelant.

The Question to the Answer - Sweets & Emma date, return of the past for Sweets with torture.

The Car in the Lake - Sweets seems to be sick but won't tell anyone.

The Explosive in the Situation - Sweets involved in an explosion.

The Psychologist in the Institution - Sweets gets maliciously admitted to an asylum and endures electro-shock therapy.

The Chill in the Air - Tracking down a killer, Sweets is trapped in an icy cabin and gets hypothermia

The Murder in the Family - strange multi decade case

The Bank in the Heist & The Clue in the Profiler - the first one little story about a bank heist & Sweets gets shot. Followed up by a far darker story in which Sweets is kidnapped and profiles the killer's murders live.

The Choice of a Family - Sweets attempts to help a young but instead gets beat up by the gang and then develops a drug addiction.

The Tierney in the Image - It appears Booth has tried to kill Sweets in order to keep him safe.

The Heat in the Mercury - Sweets is trapped and about to melt down.

**What's your favorite? Should there be more? What should happen to Sweets next? ;)**


End file.
